'l  WOULD  GIVE  A  POUND  NOTE  TO  KNOW  WHAT  YOU'LL   BE 
TEN   YEARS  FROM  NOW " 


#* 


• 


Cbpyright,  1896,  by  CHAJU.M  SCWBNER'I  SoUf 


M  > 


•    •  •«  •  «    • 


TO 

MY    WIFE 


INTRODUCTION 

THIS  is  not  in  the  smallest  degree  the  book  I 
meant  it  to  be.     Tommy  ran  away  with  the 
author. 

When  we  meet  a  man  who  interests  us,  and  is 
perhaps  something  of  an  enigma,  we  may  fall  a- 
wondering  what  sort  of  boyhood  he  had ;  and  so 
it  is  with  writers  who  become  inquisitive  about 
their  own  creations.  It  was  Sentimental  Tommy 
the  man  that  I  intended  to  write  of  here ;  I  had 
thought  him  out  as  carefully  as  was  possible  to 
me ;  but  I  suppose  I  saw  the  end  more  clearly  than 
the  beginning,  for  when  I  sat  down  to  make  a 
start  I  felt  that  I  could  not  really  know  him  at  one 
and  twenty  unless  I  could  picture  him  at  fifteen, 
and  one's  character  is  so  fixed  at  fifteen  that  I  saw 
I  must  go  farther  back  for  him,  and  so  I  journeyed 
to  his  childhood.  Even  then  I  meant  merely  to 
summarize  his  early  days,  but  I  was  loth  to  leave 
him,  or  perhaps  it  was  he  who  was  loth  to  grow 
up,  having  a  suspicion  of  what  was  in  store  for 
him.  "  Let  us  have  one  more  game  in  the  Den," 
he  cried,  and  I  was  a  tool  in  his  hands.  But  though 
we  may  put  off  the  evil  day  as  long  as  we  can, 
come  it  must  in  the  end. 

vii 


CONTENTS 
PART  I 

PAGE 

I     TOMMY   CONTRIVES   TO    KEEP    ONE 

OUT I 

II     BUT  THE  OTHER  GETS  IN      ....     16 

III  SHOWING    HOW    TOMMY    WAS    SUD- 

DENLY    TRANSFORMED      INTO      A 

YOUNG   GENTLEMAN 27 

IV  THE  END  OF  AN  IDYLL 42 

V     THE  GIRL  WITH  TWO  MOTHERS  .     .  56 

VI     THE  ENCHANTED  STREET 66 

VII  COMIC  OVERTURE  TO  A  TRAGEDY    .     78 

VIII  THE  BOY  WITH  TWO  MOTHERS    .     .     90 

IX     AULD  LANG  SYNE 106 

X  THE  FAVOURITE  OF  THE  LADIES  .     .117 

XI    AARON  LATTA 133 

XII     A  CHILD'S  TRAGEDY 148 

XIII  SHOWS    HOW    TOMMY   TOOK     CARE 

OF  ELSPETH 166 

XIV  THE  HANKY  SCHOOL 173 

XV     THE  MAN  WHO  NEVER  CAME    ...   184 

XVI     THE  PAINTED  LADY 197 

XVII     IN  WHICH  TOMMY  SOLVES  THE  WO- 
MAN PROBLEM 207 

XVIII     THE  MUCKLEY 217 

XIX     CORP  IS  BROUGHT  TO  HEEL— GRIZEL 

DEFIANT 232 

XX    THE  SHADOW  OF  SIR  WALTER  ...  245 
ix 


CONTENTS 
PART  II 

PAGI 

XXI    THE  LAST  JACOBITE  RISING  ...  261 

XXII     THE  SIEGE  OF  THRUMS       .     .    ~.     .  277 

XXIII  GRIZEL  PAYS  THREE  VISITS  ...  292 

XXIV  A  ROMANCE  OF  TWO  OLD  MAIDS 

AND  A  STOUT  BACHELOR      .     .  302 

XXV     A  PENNY  PASS-BOOK   ......  321 

XXVI     TOMMY    REPENTS,  AND    IS    NONE 

THE  WORSE  FOR  IT 335 

XXVII     THE  LONGER  CATECHISM       ...  348 
XXVIII     BUT  IT  SHOULD  HAVE  BEEN  MISS 

KITTY 358 

XXIX     TOMMY  THE  SCHOLAR 364 

XXX     END  OF  THE  JACOBITE  RISING  .     .  378 

XXXI     A  LETTER  TO  GOD     ..'...  391 

XXXII     AN  ELOPEMENT 405 

XXXIII  THERE    IS    SOME    ONE    TO    LOVE 

GRIZEL  AT  LAST 423 

XXXIV  WHO  TOLD  TOMMY  TO  SPEAK      .  438 
XXXV     THE  BRANDING  OF  TOMMY   ...  452 

XXXVI     OF  FOUR  MINISTERS  WHO  AFTER- 
WARDS   BOASTED   THAT    THEY 

HAD    KNOWN    TOMMY   SANDYS  470 

XXXVII     THE  END  OF  A  BOYHOOD       ...  491 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMM\ 
PART  I 


SENTIMENTAL    TOMMY 

THE  STORY   OF  HIS  BOYHOOD 
CHAPTER   I 

TOMMY  CONTRIVES  TO   KEEP  ONE  OUT 

HPHE  celebrated  Tommy  first  comes  into  view 
X  on  a  dirty  London  stair,  and  he  was  in  sex- 
less garments,  which  were  all  he  had,  and  he  was 
five,  and  so  though  we  art  looking  at  him,  we 
must  do  it  sideways,  lest  he  sit  down  hurriedly  to 
hide  them.  That  inscrutable  face,  which  made 
the  clubmen  of  his  later  days  uneasy  and  even 
puzzled  the  ladies  while  he  was  making  love  to 
them,  was  already  his,  except  when  he  smiled  at 
one  of  his  pretty  thoughts  or  stopped  at  an  open 
door  to  sniff  a  potful.  On  his  way  up  and  down 
the  stair  he  often  paused  to  sniff,  but  he  never 
asked  for  anything;  his  mother  had  warned  him 
against  it,  and  he  carried  out  her  injunction  with 
almost  unnecessary  spirit,  declining  offers  before 

1 


SENTIMENTAL,   TOMMY 

they  were  made,  as  when  passing  a  room,  whence 
came  the  smell  of  fried  fish,  he  might  call  in,  "  I 
don't  not  want  none  of  your  fish,"  or  "My  mother 
says  I  don't  not  want  the  littlest  bit,"  or  wistfully, 
"I  ain't  hungry,"  or  more  wistfully  still,  "My 
mothei  says  I  ain't  hungry."  His  mother  heard 
of  this  and  was  angry,  crying  that  he  had  let  the 
neighbours  know  something  she  was  anxious  to 
conceal,  but  what  he  had  revealed  to  them  Tommy 
could  not  make  out,  and  when  he  questioned  her 
artlessly,  she  took  him  with  sudden  passion  to  her 
flat  breast,  and  often  after  that  she  looked  at  him 
long  and  wofully  and  wrung  her  hands. 

The  only  other  pleasant  smell  known  to  Tommy 
was  when  the  water-carts  passed  the  mouth  of  his 
little  street.  His  street,  which  ended  in  a  dead 
wall,  was  near  the  river,  but  on  the  doleful  south 
side  of  it,  opening  off  a  longer  street  where  the 
cabs  of  Waterloo  station  sometimes  found  them- 
selves when  they  took  the  wrong  turning;  his  home 
was  at  the  top  of  a  house  of  four  floors,  each  with 
accommodation  for  at  least  two  families,  and  here 
he  had  lived  with  his  mother  since  his  father's 
death  six  months  ago.  There  was  oil-cloth  on 
the  stair  as  far  as  the  second  floor;  there  had  been 
oil-cloth  between  the  second  floor  and  the  third - 
Tommy  could  point  out  pieces  of  it  still  adhering 
to  the  wood  like  remnants  of  a  plaster. 

This  stair  was  nursery  to  all  the  children  whose 
2 


TOMMY    KEEPS   ONE   OUT 

homes  opened  on  it,  not  so  safe  as  nurseries  in  the 
part  of  London  that  is  chiefly  inhabited  by  boys 
in  sailor  suits,  but  preferable  as  a  centre  of  adven- 
ture, and  here  on  an  afternoon  sat  two.  They 
were  very  busy  boasting,  but  only  the  smaller  had 
imagination,  and  as  he  used  it  recklessly,  their  po- 
sitions soon  changed;  sexless  garments  was  now 
prone  on  a  step,  breeches  sitting  on  him. 

Shovel,  a  man  of  seven,  had  said,  "  None  on 
your  lip.  You  weren't  never  at  Thrums  your- 
self." 

Tommy's  reply  was,  "Ain't  my  mother  a  Thrums 
woman  ?  " 

Shovel,  who  had  but  one  eye,  and  that  blood- 
shot, fixed  it  on  him  threateningly. 

"  The  Thames  is  in  London,"  he  said. 

"  'Cos  they  wouldn't  not  have  it  in  Thrums," 
replied  Tommy. 

"  'Amstead  'Eath's  in  London,  I  tell  yer,"  Shovel 
said. 

"  The  cemetery  is  in  Thrums,"  said  Tommy. 

"  There  ain't  no  queens  in  Thrums,  anyhow." 

"  There  is  the  Auld  Licht  minister." 

"  Well,  then,  if  you  jest  seed  Trafalgar  Square ! " 

"  If  you  jest  seed  the  Thrums  town-house ! " 

"  St.  Paul's  ain't  in  Thrums." 

"  It  would  like  to  be." 

After  reflecting,  Shovel  said  in  desperation, 
"'  Well,  then,  my  father  were  once  at  a  hanging/ 

3 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Tommy  replied  instantly,  "  It  were  my  father 
what  was  hanged." 

There  was  no  possible  answer  to  this  save  a 
knockdown  blow,  but  though  Tommy  was  van- 
quished in  body,  his  spirit  remained  staunch;  he 
raised  his  head  and  gasped,  "  You  should  see  how 
they  knock  down  in  Thrums ! "  It  was  then  that 
Shovel  sat  on  him. 

Such  was  their  position  when  an  odd  figure  in 
that  house,  a  gentleman,  passed  them  without  a 
word,  so  desirous  was  he  to  make  a  breath  taken 
at  the  foot  of  the  close  stair  last  him  to  the  top. 
Tommy  merely  gaped  after  this  fine  sight,  but 
Shovel  had  experience,  and  "  It's  a  kid  or  a  coffin," 
he  said  sharply,  knowing  that  only  birth  or  death 
brought  a  doctor  here. 

Watching  the  doctor's  ascent,  the  two  boys 
strained  their  necks  over  the  rickety  banisters, 
which  had  been  polished  black  by  trousers  of  the 
past,  and  sometimes  they  lost  him,  and  then  they 
saw  his  legs  again. 

"  Hello,  it's  your  old  woman ! "  cried  Shovel 
44  Is  she  a  deader  ?  "  he  asked,  brightening,  for  fun- 
erals made  a  pleasant  stir  on  the  stair. 

The  question  had  no  meaning  for  bewildered 

Tommy,  but  he  saw  that  if  his  mother  was  a 

ler,  whatever  that  might  be,  he  had  grown 

great  in  his  companion's  eye.     So  he  hoped  she 

was  a  deader. 


TOMMY    KEEPS   ONE   OUT 

"  If  it's  only  a  kid,"  Shovel  began,  with  such 
scorn  that  Tommy  at  once  screamed,  "  It  ain't ! '' 
and,  cross-examined,  he  swore  eagerly  that  his 
mother  was  in  bed  when  he  left  her  in  the  morn- 
ing, that  she  was  still  in  bed  at  dinner-time,  also 
that  the  sheet  was  over  her  face,  also  that  she  was 
cold. 

Then  she  was  a  deader,  and  had  attained  distinc- 
tion in  the  only  way  possible  in  that  street.  Shovel 
did  not  shake  Tommy's  hand  warmly,  the  forms 
of  congratulation  varying  in  different  parts  of 
London,  but  he  looked  his  admiration  so  plainly 
that  Tommy's  head  waggled  proudly.  Evidently, 
whatever  his  mother  had  done  redounded  to  his 
glory  as  well  as  to  hers,  and  somehow  he  had  be- 
come a  boy  of  mark.  He  said  from  his  elevation 
that  he  hoped  Shovel  would  believe  his  tales  about 
Thrums  now,  and  Shovel,  who  had  often  cuffed 
Tommy  for  sticking  to  him  so  closely,  cringed  in 
the  most  snobbish  manner,  craving  permission  to 
be  seen  in  his  company  for  the  next  three  days. 
Tommy,  the  upstart,  did  not  see  his  way  to  grant 
this  favor  for  nothing,  and  Shovel  offered  a  knife, 
but  did  not  have  it  with  him;  it  was  his  sister 
Ameliar's  knife,  and  he  would  take  it  from  her, 
help  his  davy.  Tommy  would  wait  there  till 
Shovel  fetched  it.  Shovel,  baffled,  wanted  to  know 
what  Tommy  was  putting  on  hairs  for.  Tommy 
smiled,  and  asked  whose  mother  was  a  deader. 

C 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

Then  Shovel  collapsed,  and  his  wind  passed  into 
Tommy. 

The  reign  of  Thomas  Sandys,  nevertheless,  was 
among  the  shortest,  for  with  this  question  was  he 
overthrown :  "  How  did  yer  know  she  were  cold  ?  '' 

"Because,"  replied  Tommy,  triumphantly,  "she 
tell  me  herself." 

Shovel  only  looked  at  him,  but  one  eye  can  be 
so  much  more  terrible  than  two,  that  plop,  plop, 
plop  came  the  balloon  softly  down  the  steps  of  the 
throne  and  at  the  foot  shrank  pitifully,  as  if  with 
Ameliar's  knife  in  it. 

"  It's  only  a  kid  arter  all ! "  screamed  Shovel, 
furiously.  Disappointment  gave  him  eloquence, 
and  Tommy  cowered  under  his  sneers,  not  under- 
standing them,  but  they  seemed  to  amount  to  this, 
that  in  having  a  baby  he  had  disgraced  the  house. 

"  But  I  think,"  he  said,  with  diffidence,  "  I  think 
I  were  once  one." 

Then  all  Shovel  could  say  was  that  he  had  bet- 
ter keep  it  dark  on  that  stair. 

Tommy  squeezed  his  fist  into  one  e/e,  and  the 
tears  came  out  at  the  other.  A  good-natured  im- 
pulse was  about  to  make  Shovel  say  that  though 
kids  are  undoubtedly  humiliations,  mothers  and 
boys  get  used  to  them  in  time,  and  go  on  as 
brazenly  as  before,  but  it  was  checked  by  Tom- 
my's unfortunate  question,  "  Shovel,  when  will  it 
come  ?  " 

6 


TOMMY   KEEPS   ONE   OUT 

Shovel,  speaking  from  local  experience,  replied 
truthfully  that  they  usually  came  very  soon  after 
the  doctor,  and  at  times  before  him. 

"It  ain't  ccme  before  him,"  Tommy  said,  con- 
fidently. 

"  How  do  yer  know  ?  " 

"  'Cos  it  weren't  there  at  dinner-time,  and  I  been 
here  since  dinner-time." 

The  words  meant  that  Tommy  thought  it  could 
only  enter  by  way  of  the  stair,  and  Shovel  quivered 
with  delight.  "  H'st ! "  he  cried,  dramatically,  and 
to  his  joy  Tommy  looked  anxiously  down  the 
stair,  instead  of  up  it. 

"  Did  you  hear  it  ?  "  Tommy  whispered. 

Before  he  could  control  himself  Shovel  blurted 
out  *  "  Do  you  think  as  they  come  on  their  feet  ?  " 

"  How  then  ?  "  demanded  Tommy  ;  but  Shovel 
had  exhausted  his  knowledge  of  the  subject. 
Tommy,  who  had  begun  to  descend  to  hold  the 
door,  turned  and  climbed  upwards,  and  his  tears 
were  now  but  the  drop  left  in  a  cup  too  hurriedly 
dried.  Where  was  he  off  to  ?  Shovel  called  after 
him,  and  he  answered,  in  a  determined  whisper; 
"  To  shove  of  it  out  if  it  tries  to  come  in  at  the  win- 
der." 

This  was  enough  for  the  more  knowing  urchin, 
now  so  full  of  good  things  that  with  another  added 
he  must  spill,  and  away  he  ran  for  an  audience, 
which  could  also  help  him  to  bait  Tommy,  that 

7 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

being  a  game  most  sportive  when  there  are  several 
to  fling  at  once.  At  the  door  he  knocked  over, 
and  was  done  with,  a  laughing  little  girl  who  had 
strayed  from  a  more  fashionable  street  She  rose 
solemnly,  and  kissing  her  muff,  to  reassure  it  if  it 
had  got  a  fright,  toddled  in  at  the  first  open  door 
to  be  out  of  the  way  of  unmannerly  boys. 

Tommy,  climbing  courageously,  heard  the  door 
slam,  and  looking  down  he  saw  —  a  strange  child. 
He  climbed  no  higher.  It  had  come. 

After  a  long  time  he  was  one  flight  of  stairs 
nearer  it.  It  was  making  itself  at  home  on  the 
bottom  step;  resting,  doubtless,  before  it  came 
hopping  up.  Another  dozen  steps,  and  —  It  was 
beautifully  dressed  in  one  piece  of  yellow  and 
brown  that  reached  almost  to  its  feet,  with  a  bit 
left  at  the  top  to  form  a  hood,  out  of  which  its 
pert  face  peeped  impudently ;  oho,  so  they  came 
in  their  Sunday  clothes.  He  drew  so  near  that  he 
could  hear  it  cooing:  thought  itself  as  good  as 
upstairs,  did  it ! 

He  bounced  upon  her  sharply,  thinking  to  carry 
all  with  a  high  hand.  "  Out  you  go ! "  he  cried, 
with  the  action  of  one  heaving  coals. 

She  whisked  round,  and,  "  Oo  boy  or  oo  girl  *? " 
she  inquired,  puzzled  by  his  dress. 

"  None  of  your  cheek  ! "  roared  insulted  man- 
hood. 

**  Oo  boy,"  she  said,  decisively. 
8 


TOMMY   KEEPS   ONE   OUT 

With  the  effrontery  of"  them  when  they  are 
young,  she  made  room  for  him  on  her  step,  but 
he  declined  the  invitation,  knowing  that  her  design 
was  to  skip  up  the  stair  the  moment  he  was  oft' 
his  guard. 

"  You  don't  needn't  think  as  we'll  have  you,"  he 
announced,  firmly.  "  You  had  best  go  away  to 
—  go  to  —  "  His  imagination  failed  him.  "  You 
had  best  go  back,"  he  said. 

She  did  not  budge,  however,  and  his  next  at- 
tempt was  craftier.  "  My  mother,"  he  assured  her, 
"  ain't  living  here  now ;  "  but  mother  was  a  new 
word  to  the  girl,  and  she  asked  gleefully,  "Oo 
have  mother  ?  "  expecting  him  to  produce  it  from 
his  pocket.  To  coax  him  to  give  her  a  sight  of 
it  she  said  plaintively,  "  Me  no  have  mother." 

"You  won't  not  get  mine,"  replied  Tommy 
doggedly. 

She  pretended  not  to  understand  what  was 
troubling  him,  and  it  passed  through  his  head 
that  she  had  to  wait  there  till  the  doctor  came 
down  for  her.  He  might  come  at  any  moment. 

A  boy  does  not  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket 
until  every  other  means  of  gaining  his  end  has 
failed,  but  to  that  extremity  had  Tommy  now 
come.  For  months  his  only  splendid  possession 
had  been  a  penny  despised  by  trade  because  of  a 
large  round  hole  in  it,  as  if  (to  quote  Shovel)  some 
previous  owner  had  cut  a  farthing  out  of  it.  To 

9 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

tell  the  escapades  of  this  penny  (there  are  no  ad- 
venturers like  coin  of  the  realm)  would  be  one  way 
of  exhibiting  Tommy  to  the  curious,  but  it  would 
be  a  hard-hearted  way.  At  present  the  penny  was 
doubly  dear  to  him,  having  been  long  lost  and 
lately  found.  In  a  noble  moment  he  had  dropped 
it  into  a  charity  box  hanging  forlorn  against  the 
wall  of  a  shop,  where  it  lay  very  lonely  by  itself, 
so  that  when  Tommy  was  that  way  he  could  hear 
it  respond  if  he  shook  the  box,  as  acquaintances 
give  each  other  the  time  of  day  in  passing.  Thus 
at  comparatively  small  outlay  did  he  spread  his 
benevolence  over  weeks  and  feel  a  glow  therefrom, 
until  the  glow  went,  when  he  and  Shovel  recap- 
tured the  penny  with  a  thread  and  a  bent  pin. 

This  treasure  he  sadly  presented  to  the  girl,  and 
she  accepted  it  with  glee,  putting  it  on  her  finger, 
as  if  it  were  a  ring,  but  instead  of  saying  that  she 
would  go  now  she  asked  him,  coolly, 

"Ooknow  tories?" 

"  Stories  ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  I'll  —  I'll  tell  you 
about  Thrums,"  and  was  about  to  do  it  for  love, 
but  stopped  in  time.  "  This  ain't  a  good  stair  for 
stories,"  he  said,  cunningly.  "I  can't  not  tell 
stories  HI  this  stair,  but  I  —  I  know  a  good  stair 
for  stories." 

The  ninny  of  a  girl  was  completely  hoodwinked ; 
and  see,  there  they  go,  each  with  a  hand  in  the 
muff,  the  one  leering,  oh,  so  triumphantly;  the 

10 


TOMMY    KEEPS   ONE   OUT 

other  trusting  and  gleeful.  There  was  an  exu- 
berance of  vitality  about  her  as  if  she  lived  too 
quickly  in  her  gladness,  which  you  may  remember 
in  some  child  who  visited  the  earth  for  but  a  little 
while. 

How  superbly  Tommy  had  done  it!  It  had 
been  another  keen  brain  pitted  against  his,  and  at 
first  he  was  not  winning.  Then  up  came  Thrums, 
and  —  But  the  thing  has  happened  before ;  in  a 
word,  Bliicher.  Nevertheless,  Tommy  just  managed 
it,  for  he  got  the  girl  out  of  the  street  and  on  to 
another  stair  no  more  than  in  time  to  escape  a 
ragged  rabble,  headed  by  Shovel,  who,  finding  their 
quarry  gone,  turned  on  their  leader  viciously,  and 
had  gloomy  views  of  life  till  his  cap  was  kicked 
down  a  sewer,  which  made  the  world  bright  again. 

Of  the  tales  told  by  Tommy  that  day  in  words 
Scotch  and  cockney,  of  Thrums,  home  of  heroes 
and  the  arts,  where  the  lamps  are  lit  by  a  magician 
called  Leerie-leerie-licht-the-lamps  (but  he  is  also 
friendly,  and  you  can  fling  stones  at  him),  and  the 
merest  children  are  allowed  to  set  the  spinning- 
wheels  a-whirling,  and  dagont  is  the  swear,  and  the 
stairs  are  so  fine  that  the  houses  wear  them  outside 
for  show,  and  you  drop  a  pail  at  the  end  of  a  rope 
down  a  hole,  and  sometimes  it  comes  up  full  of 
water,  and  sometimes  full  of  fairies  —  of  these  and 
other  wonders,  K~  you  would  know,  ask  not  a  dull 
historian,  nor  even  go  to  Thrums,  but  to  those 

ll 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

rather  who  have  been  boys  and  girls  there  and  now 
are  exiles.  Such  a  one  Tommy  knows,  an  unhappy 
woman,  foolish,  not  very  lovable,  flung  like  a  stone 
out  of  the  red  quarry  upon  a  land  where  it  cannot 
grip,  and  tearing  her  heart  for  a  sight  of  the  home 
she  shall  see  no  more.  From  her  Tommy  had  his 
pictures,  and  he  colored  them  rarely. 

Never  before  had  he  such  a  listener.  "  Oh, 
dagont,  dagont!"  he  would  cry  in  ecstasy  over 
these  fair  scenes,  and  she,  awed  or  gurgling  with 
mirth  according  to  the  nature  of  the  last,  de- 
manded "  'Nother,  'nother ! "  whereat  he  remem- 
bered who  and  what  she  was,  and  showing  her  a 
morsel  of  the  new  one,  drew  her  to  more  distant 
parts,  until  they  were  so  far  from  his  street  that  he 
thought  she  would  never  be  able  to  find  the  way 
back. 

His  intention  had  been,  on  reaching  such  a  spot, 
to  desert  her  promptly,  but  she  gave  him  her  hand 
in  the  muff  so  confidingly  that  against  his  judg- 
ment he  fell  a-pitying  the  trustful  mite  who  was 
wandering  the  world  in  search  of  a  mother,  and  so 
easily  diddled  on  the  whole  that  the  chances  were 
against  her  finding  one  before  morning.  Almost 
unconsciously  he  began  to  look,  about  him  for  a 
suitable  one. 

They  were  now  in  a  street  much  nearer  to  his 
own  home  than  the  spurts  from  ,<pot  to  spot  had 
led  him  to  suppose.  It  was  new  to  him,  but  he 

12 


TOMMY   KEEPS   ONE   OUT 

.ecognized  it  as  the  acme  of  fashion  by  those  two 
sure  signs;  railings  with  most  of  their  spikes  in 
place,  and  cards  scored  with  the  word  "Apartments." 
He  had  discovered  such  streets  as  this  before  when 
in  Shovel's  company,  and  they  had  watched  the 
toffs  go  out  and  in,  and  it  was  a  lordly  sight,  for 
first  the  toff  waggled  a  rail  that  was  loose  at  the 
top  and  then  a  girl,  called  the  servant,  peeped  at 
him  from  below,  and  then  he  pulled  the  rail  again, 
and  then  the  door  opened  from  the  inside,  and  you 
had  a  glimpse  of  wonder-land  with  a  place  for 
hanging  hats  on.  He  had  not  contemplated  do- 
ing anything  so  handsome  for  the  girl  as  this,  but 
why  should  he  not  establish  her  here?  There 
were  many  possible  mothers  in  view,  and  thrilling 
with  a  sense  of  his  generosity  he  had  almost  fixed 
on  one  but  mistrusted  the  glint  in  her  eye,  and  on 
another  when  she  saved  herself  by  tripping  and 
showing  an  undarned  heel. 

He  was  still  of  an  open  mind  when  the  girl  of 
a  sudden  cried,  gleefully,  "  Ma-ma,  ma-ma ! "  and 
pointed,  with  her  muff,  across  the  street.  The 
word  was  as  meaningless  to  Tommy  as  mother 
had  been  to  her,  but  he  saw  that  she  was  drawing 
his  attention  to  a  woman  some  thirty  yards  away. 

"Man — -man!"  he  echoed,  chiding  her  ignor- 
ance ;  "  no,  no,  you  blether,  that  ain't  a  man,  that's 
a  woman ;  that's  woman  —  woman." 

"Ooman — ooman,"  the  girl  repeated,  docilely, 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

but  when  she  looked  again,  "Ma-ma,  ma-ma,"  she 
insisted,  and  this  was  Tommy's  first  lesson  that 
hcrwever  young  you  catch  them  they  will  never 
listen  to  reason. 

She  seemed  of  a  mind  to  trip  off  to  this  woman, 
and  as  long  as  his  own  mother  was  safe,  it  did  not 
greatly  matter  to  Tommy  whom  she  chose,  but  if 
it  was  this  one,  she  was  going  the  wrong  way  about 
it.  You  cannot  snap  them  up  in  the  street. 

The  proper  course  was  to  track  her  to  her  house, 
which  he  proceeded  to  do,  and  his  quarry,  who 
was  looking  about  her  anxiously,  as  if  she  had  lost 
something,  gave  him  but  a  short  chase.  In  the  next 
street  to  the  one  in  which  they  had  first  seen  her, 
a  street  so  like  it  that  Tommy  might  have  ad- 
mired her  for  knowing  the  difference,  she  opened 
the  door  with  a  key  and  entered,  shutting  the  door 
behind  her.  Odd  to  tell,  the  child  had  pointed  to 
this  door  as  the  one  she  would  stop  at,  which  sur- 
prised Tommy  very  much. 

On  the  steps  he  gave  her  his  final  instructions, 
and  she  dimpled  and  gurgled,  obviously  full  of 
admiration  for  him,  which  was  a  thing  he  ap- 
proved of,  but  he  would  have  liked  to  see  hr 
a  little  more  serious. 

"  That  is  the  door.  Well,  then,  I'll  waggic  aie 
rail  as  makes  the  bell  ring,  and  then  I'll  run." 

That  was  all,  and  he  wished  she  had  not  giggled 
most  of  the  time.  She  was  sniggering,  as  if  she 

14 


TOMMY    KEEPS   ONE   OUT 

thought  him  a  very  funny  boy,  even  when  he  rang 
the  bell  and  bolted. 

From  a  safe  place  he  watched  the  opening  of 
the  door,  and  saw  the  frivolous  thing  lose  a  valu- 
able second  in  waving  the  muff  to  him.  '  "  In  you 
go ! "  he  screamed  beneath  his  breath.  Then  she 
entered  and  the  door  closed.  He  waited  an  hour, 
or  two  minutes,  or  thereabout,  and  she  had  not 
been  ejected.  Triumph ! 

With  a  drum  beating  inside  him  Tommy 
strutted  home,  where,  alas,  a  boy  was  waiting  to 
put  his  foot  through  it. 


CHAPTER   II 

BUT   THE  OTHER  GETS   IN 

To  Tommy,  a  swaggerer,  came  Shovel  sour-vis- 
aged;  having  now  no  cap  of  his  own,  he  ex- 
changed with  Tommy,  would  also  have  bled  the 
blooming  mouth  of  him,  but  knew  of  a  revenge 
that  saves  the  knuckles:  announced,  with  jeers 
and  offensive  finger  exercise,  that  "  it "  had  come. 

Shovel  was  a  liar.  If  he  only  knowed  what 
Tommy  knowed! 

If  Tommy  only  heard  what  Shovel  had  hearn ! 

Tommy  was  of  opinion  that  Shovel  hadn't  not 
heard  anything. 

Shovel  believed  as  Tommy  didn't  know  nuthin. 

Tommy  wouldn't  listen  to  what  Shovel  had 
heard. 

Neither  would  Shovel  listen  to  what  Tommy 
knew. 

If  Shovel  would  tell  what  he  had  heard,  Tommy 
would  tell  what  he  knew. 

Well,  then,  Shovel  had  listened  at  the  door,  and 
heard  it  mewling. 

Tommy  knowed  it  well,  and  it  never  mewled 

How  could  Tommy  know  it? 


BUT   THE  OTHER  GETS   IN 

'Cos  he  had  been  with  it  a  long  time. 

Gosh !     Why,  it  had  only  corned  a  minute  ago. 

This  made  Tommy  uneasy,  and  he  asked  a 
leading  question  cunningly.  A  boy,  wasn't  it? 

No,  Shovel's  old  woman  had  been  up  helping 
to  hold  it,  and  she  said  it  were  a  girl. 

Shutting  his  mouth  tightly,  which  was  never 
natural  to  him,  the  startled  Tommy  mounted  the 
stair,  listened  and  was  convinced.  He  did  not 
enter  his  dishonored  .Some.  He  had  no  intention 
of  ever  entering  it  again.  With  one  salt  tear  he 
renounced  —  a  child,  a  mother. 

Ort  his  way  downstairs  he  was  received  by 
Shovel  and  party,  who  planted  their  arrows  neatly. 
Kids  cried  steadily,  he  was  told,  for  the  first  year. 
A  boy  one  was  bad  enough,  but  a  girl  one  was 
oh  lawks.  He  must  never  again  expect  to  get 
playing  with  blokes  like  what  they  was.  Already 
she  had  got  round  his  old  gal  who  would  care  for 
him  no  more.  What  would  they  say  about  this 
in  Thrums? 

Shovel  even  insisted  on  returning  him  his  cap 
and    for    some    queer    reason,    this   cut   deepest 
Tommy  about  to  charge,  with  his  head  down,  now 
walked  away  so  quietly  that  Shovel,  who  could  not 
help  liking  the  funny  little  cuss,  felt  a  twinge  of 
remorse,  and  nearly  followed  him  with  a  mag 
nanimous  offer:  to  treat  him  as  if  he  were  still 
respectable. 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

Tommy  lay  down  on  a  distant  stair,  one  of  the 
very  stairs  where  she  had  sat  with  him.  Ladies, 
don't  you  dare  to  pity  him  now,  for  he  won't  stand 
it.  Rage  was  what  he  felt,  and  a  man  in  a  rage 
(as  you  may  know  if  you  are  married)  is  only  to 
be  soothed  by  the  sight  of  all  womankind  in  ter- 
ror of  him.  But  you  may  look  upon  your  handi- 
work, and  gloat,  an  you  will,  on  the  wreck  you 
have  made.  A  young  gentleman  trusted  one 
of  you;  behold  the  result.  O!  O!  O!  O!  now 
do  you  understand  why  we  men  cannot  abide 
you? 

If  she  had  told  him  flat  that  his  mother,  and  his 
alone,  she  would  have,  and  so  there  was  an  end  of 
it.  Ah,  catch  them  taking  a  straight  road.  But 
to  put  on  those  airs  of  helplessness,  to  wave  him 
that  gay  good-by,  and  then  the  moment  his  back 
was  turned,  to  be  off  through  the  air  on  —  perhaps 
on  her  muff,  to  the  home  he  had  thought  to  lure 
her  from.  In  a  word,  to  be  diddled  by  a  girl 
when  one  flatters  himself  he  is  diddling!  S'death, 
a  dashing  fellow  finds  it  hard  to  bear.  Never- 
theless, he  has  to  bear  it,  for  oh,  Tommy,  Tommy, 
'tis  the  common  lot  of  man. 

His  hand  sought  his  pocket  for  the  penny  that 
had  brought  him  comfort  in  dark  hours  before 
now ;  but,  alack,  she  had  deprived  him  even  of  it. 
Never  again  should  .his  pinkie  finger  go  through 
that  warm  hole,  and  at  the  thought  a  sense  of  his 

18 


BUT   THE   OTHER  GETS   IN 

forlornness  choked  him,  and  he  cried.  You  may 
pity  him  a  little  now. 

Darkness  came  and  hid  him  even  from  himself. 
He  is  not  found  again  until  a  time  of  the  night 
that  is  not  marked  on  ornamental  clocks,  but  has 
an  hour  to  itself  on  the  watch  which  a  hundred 
thousand  or  so  of  London  women  carry  in  their 
breasts ;  the  hour  when  men  steal  homewards 
trickling  at  the  mouth  and  drawing  back  from 
their  own  shadows  to  the  wives  they  once  went 
a-maying  with,  or  the  mothers  who  had  such 
travail  at  the  bearing  of  them,  as  if  for  great  ends. 
Out  of  this,  the  drunkard's  hour,  rose  the  wan  face 
of  Tommy,  who  had  waked  up  somewhere  clammy 
cold  and  quaking,  and  he  was  a  very  little  boy,  so 
he  ran  to  his  mother. 

Such  a  shabby  dark  room  it  was,  but  it  was 
home,  such  a  weary  worn  woman  in  the  bed,  but 
he  was  her  son,  and  she  had  been  wringing  her 
hands  because  he  was  so  long  in  coming,  and  do 
you  think  he  hurt  her  when  he  pressed  his  head  on 
her  poor  breast,  and  do  you  think  she  grudged  the 
heat  his  cold  hands  drew  from  her  warm  face  *?  He 
squeezed  her  with  a  violence  that  put  more  heat 
into  her  blood  than  he  took  out  of  it. 

And  he  was  very  considerate,  too :  not  a  word 
of  reproach  in  him,  though  he  knew  very  well 
what  that  bundle  in  the  back  of  the  bed  was. 

She  guessed  that  he  had  heard  the  news  and 

19 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

stayed  away  through  jealousy  of  his  sister,  and  by 
and  by  she  said,  with  a  faint  smile,  "  I  have  a 
present  for  you,  laddie."  In  the  great  world  with- 
out, she  used  few  Thrums  words  now ;  you  would 
have  known  she  was  Scotch  by  her  accent  only, 
but  when  she  and  Tommy  were  together  in  that 
room,  with  the  door  shut,  she  always  spoke  as  if 
her  window  still  looked  out  on  the  bonny  Mary- 
wellbrae.  It  is  not  really  bonny,  it  is  gey  an1  mean 
an'  bleak,  and  you  must  not  come  to  see  it.  It  is 
just  a  steep  wind-swept  street,  old  and  wrinkled, 
like  your  mother's  face. 

She  had  a  present  for  him,  she  said,  and  Tommy 
replied,  "  I  knows,"  with  averted  face. 

"  Such  a  bonny  thing." 

"  Bonny  enough,"  he  said  bitterly. 

"  Look  at  her,  laddie." 

But  he  shrank  from  the  ordeal,  crying,  "No,  no, 
keep  her  covered  up ! " 

The  little  traitor  seemed  to  be  asleep,  and  so  he 
ventured  to  say,  eagerly,  "It  wouldn't  not  take 
long  to  carry  all  our  things  to  another  house,  would 
it?  Me  and  Shovel  could  near  do  it  ourselves." 

"  And  that's  God's  truth,"  the  woman  said,  with 
a  look  round  the  room.  "  But  what  for  should  we 
do  that?" 

"  Do  you  no  see,  mother  ?  "  he  whispered  ex- 
citedly. "  Then  you  and  me  could  slip  away,  and 
—  and  leave  her  —  in  the  press." 

20 


BDT   THE   OTHER  GETS   IN 

The  feeble  smile  with  which  his  mother  received 
this  he  interpreted  thus,  "  Wherever  we  go'd  to 
she  would  be  there  before  us." 

"  The  little  besom ! "  he  cried  helplessly. 

His  mother  saw  that  mischievous  boys  had  been 
mounting  him  on  his  horse,  which  needed  only  one 
slap  to  make  it  go  a  mile;  but  she  was  a  spirit- 
less woman,  and  replied  indifferently,  "You're  a 
funny  litlin." 

Presently  a  dry  sob  broke  from  her,  and  think- 
ing the  child  was  the  cause,  soft-hearted  Tommy 
said,  "It  can't  not  be  helped,  mother;  don't  cry, 
mother,  I'm  fond  on  yer  yet,  mother;  I  —  I  took 
her  away.  I  found  another  woman  —  but  she 
would  come." 

"She's  God's  gift,  man,"  his  mother  said,  but 
she  added,  in  a  different  tone,  "  Ay,  but  he  hasna 
sent  her  keep." 

"  God's  gift ! "  Tommy  shuddered,  but  he  said 
sourly,  "  I  wish  he  would  take  her  back.  Do  you 
wish  that,  too,  mother  *?  " 

The  weary  woman  almost  said  she  did,  but  her 
arms  —  they  gripped  the  baby  as  if  frightened 
that  he  had  sent  for  it.  Jealous  Tommy,  suddenly 
deprived  of  his  mother's  hand,  cried,  "It's  true 
what  Shovel  says,  you  don't  not  love  me  never 
again ;  you  jest  loves  that  little  limmer ! " 

"Na,  na,"  the  mother  answered,  passionate  at 
last,  "  she  can  never  be  to  me  what  you  hae  been, 

21 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

my  laddie,  for  you  came  to  me  when  my  hame 
was  in  hell,  and  we  tholed  it  thegither,  you  and  me." 

This  bewildered  though  it  comforted  him.  He 
thought  his  mother  might  be  speaking  about  the 
room  in  which  they  had  lived  until  six  months 
ago,  when  his  father  was  put  into  the  black  box, 
but  when  he  asked  her  if  this  were  so,  she  told 
him  to  sleep,  for  she  was  dog-tired.  She  always 
evaded  him  in  this  way  when  he  questioned  her 
about  his  past,  but  at  times  his  mind  would  wan- 
der backwards  unbidden  to  those  distant  days,  and 
then  he  saw  flitting  dimly  through  them  the  elusive 
form  of  a  child.  He  knew  it  was  himself,  and  for 
moments  he  could  see  it  clearly,  but  when  he 
moved  a  step  nearer  it  was  not  there.  So  does 
the  child  we  once  were  play  hide  and  seek  with 
us  among  the  mists  of  infancy,  until  one  day  he 
trips  and  falls  into  the  daylight.  Then  we  seize 
him,  and  with  that  touch  we  two  are  one.  It  is 
the  birth  of  self-consciousness. 

Hitherto  he  had  slept  at  the  back  of  his  mother's 
bed,  but  to-night  she  could  not  have  him  there, 
the  place  being  occupied,  and  rather  sulkily  he 
consented  to  lie  crosswise  at  her  feet,  undressing 
by  the  feeble  fire  and  taking  care,  as  he  got  into 
bed,  not  to  look  at  the  usurper.  His  mother 
watched  him  furtively,  and  was  relieved  to  read 
in  his  face  that  he  had  no  recollection  of  ever  hav- 
ing slept  at  the  foot  of  a  bed  before.  But  soon 

22 


BUT   THE   OTHER   GETS    IN 

after  he  fell  asleep  he  awoke,  and  was  afraid  to 
move  lest  his  father  should  kick  him.  He  opened 
his  eyes  stealthily,  and  this  was  neither  the  room 
nor  the  bed  he  had  expected  to  see. 

The  floor  was  bare  save  for  a  sheepskin  beside 
the  bed.  Tommy  always  stood  on  the  sheepskin 
while  he  was  dressing  because  it  was  warm  to  the 
feet,  though  risky,  as  your  toes  sometimes  caught 
in  knots  in  it.  There  was  a  deal  table  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  floor  with  some  dirty  crockery  on  it  and 
a  kettle  that  would  leave  a  mark,  but  they  had 
"been  left  there  by  Shovel's  old  girl,  for  Mrs.  San- 
dys usually  kept  her  house  clean.  The  chairs 
were  of  the  commonest,  and  the  press  door  would 
not  remain  shut  unless  you  stuck  a  knife  between 
its  halves;  but  there  was  a  gay  blue  wardrobe, 
spotted  white  where  Tommy's  mother  had  scraped 
off  the  mud  that  had  once  bespattered  it  during  a 
lengthy  sojourn  at  the  door  of  a  shop;  and  on  the 
mantelpiece  was  a  clock  in  a  little  brown  and  yel- 
low house,  and  on  the  clock  a  Bible  that  had  been 
in  Thrums.  But  what  Tommy  was  proudest  of 
was  his  mother's  kist,  to  which  the  chests  of  Lon- 
doners are  not  to  be  compared,  though  like  it  in 
appearance.  On  the  inside  of  the  lid  of  this  kist 
was  pasted,  after  a  Thrums  custom,  something  that 
his  mother  called  her  marriage  lines,  which  she 
forced  Shovel's  mother  to  come  up  and  look  at 
one  day,  when  that  lady  had  made  an  innuendo 

23 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Tommy  did  not  understand,  and  Shovel's  mother 
had  looked,  and  though  she  could  not  read,  was 
convinced,  knowing  them  by  the  shape. 

Tommy  lay  at  the  foot  of  the  bed  looking  at 
this  room,  which  was  his  home  now,  and  trying  to 
think  of  the  other  one,  and  by  and  by  the  fire 
helped  him  by  falling  to  ashes,  when  darkness 
came  in,  and  packing  the  furniture  in  grotesque 
cloths,  removed  it  piece  by  piece,  all  but  the  clock. 
Then  the  room  took  a  new  shape.  The  fireplace 
was  over  there  instead  of  here,  the  torn  yellow 
blind  gave  way  to  one  made  of  spars  of  green 
wood,  that  were  bunched  up  at  one  side,  like  a 
lady  out  for  a  walk.  On  a  round  table  there  was 
a  beautiful  blue  cloth,  with  very  few  gravy  marks, 
and  here  a  man  ate  beef  when  a  woman  and  a  boy 
ate  bread,  and  near  the  fire  was  the  man's  big  soft 
chair,  out  of  which  you  could  pull  hairs,  just  as  if 
it  were  Shovel's  sister. 

Of  this  man  who  was  his  father  he  could  get  no 
hold.  He  could  feel  his  presence,  but  never  see 
him.  Yet  he  had  a  face.  It  sometimes  pressed 
Tommy's  face  against  it  in  order  to  hurt  him, 
which  it  could  do,  being  all  short  needles  at  the 
chin. 

Once  in  those  days  Tommy  and  his  mother  ran 
away  and  hid  from  some  one.  He  did  not  know 
from  whom  nor  for  how  long,  though  it  was  but  for 
a  week,  and  it  kft  only  two  impressions  on  his  mind, 

24. 


BUT  THE  OTHER  GETS   IN 

the  one  that  he  often  asked,  "  Is  this  starving  now, 
mother  ?  "  the  other  that  before  turning  a  corner 
she  always  peered  round  it  fearfully.  Then  they 
went  back  again  to  the  man  and  he  laughed  when 
he  saw  them,  but  did  not  take  his  feet  off  the 
mantelpiece.  There  came  a  time  when  the  man 
was  always  in  bed,  but  still  Tommy  could  not 
see  his  face.  What  he  did  see  was  the  man's 
clothes  lying  on  the  large  chair  just  as  he  had 
placed  them  there  when  he  undressed  for  the  last 
time.  The  black  coat  and  worsted  waistcoat  which 
he  could  take  off  together  were  on  the  seat,  and 
the  light  trousers  hung  over  the  side,  the  legs  on 
the  hearthrug,  with  the  red  socks  still  sticking  in 
them :  a  man  without  a  body. 

But  the  boy  had  one  vivid  recollection,  of  how 
his  mother  received  the  news  of  his  father's  death. 
An  old  man  with  a  white  beard  and  gentle  ways, 
who  often  came  to  give  the  invalid  physic,  was 
standing  at  the  bedside,  and  Tommy  and  his 
mother  were  sitting  on  the  fender.  The  old  man 
came  to  her  and  said,  "  It  is  all  over,"  and  put  her 
softly  into  the  big  chair.  She  covered  her  face 
with  her  hands,  and  he  must  have  thought  she 
was  crying,  for  he  tried  to  comfort  her.  But  as 
soon  as  he  was  gone  she  rose,  with  such  a  queer 
face,  and  went  on  tiptoe  to  the  bed,  and  looked 
intently  at  her  husband,  and  then  she  clapped  hei 
hands  joyously  three  times. 

2? 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

At  last  Tommy  fell  asleep  with  his  mouth  open, 
which  is  the  most  important  thing  that  has  been 
told  of  him  as  yet,  and  while  he  slept  day  came 
and  restored  the  furniture  that  night  had  stolen. 
But  when  the  boy  woke  he  did  not  even  notice 
the  change;  his  brain  traversed  the  hours  it  had 
lost  since  he  lay  down  as  quickly  as  you  may  put 
on  a  stopped  clock,  and  with  his  first  tick  he  was 
thinking  of  nothing  but  the  deceiver  in  the  back 
of  the  bed.  He  raised  his  head,  but  could  only 
see  that  she  had  crawled  under  the  coverlet  to  es- 
cape his  wrath.  His  mother  was  asleep.  Tommy 
sat  up  and  peeped  over  the  edge  of  the  bed,  then 
he  let  his  eyes  wander  round  the  room;  he  was 
looking  for  the  girl's  clothes,  but  they  were  no- 
where to  be  seen.  It  is  distressing  to  have  to  tell 
what  was  in  his  mind  was  merely  the  recovery  of 
his  penny.  Perhaps  as  they  were  Sunday  clothes 
she  had  hung  them  up  in  the  wardrobe?  He 
slipped  on  to  the  floor  and  crossed  to  the  ward- 
robe, but  not  even  the  muff  could  he  find.  Had 
she  been  tired  and  gone  to  bed  in  them  ?  Very 
softly  he  crawled  over  his  mother,  and  pulling  the 
coverlet  off  the  child's  face,  got  the  great  shock 
of  his  childhood. 

It  was  another  one ! 


CHAPTER   III 

SHOWING   HOW  TOMMY  WAS   SUDDENLY  TRANSFORMED 
INTO  A  YOUNG  GENTLEMAN 

IT  would  have  fared  ill  with  Mrs.  Sandys  now,  had 
her  standoffishness  to  her  neighbours  been  repaid 
in  the  same  coin,  but  they  were  full  of  sympa- 
thy, especially  Shovel's  old  girl,  from  whom  she 
had  often  drawn  back  offensively  on  the  stair,  but 
who  nevertheless  waddled  up  several  times  a  day 
with  savory  messes,  explaining,  when  Mrs.  Sandys 
sniffed,  that  it  was  not  the  tapiocar  but  merely  the 
cup  that  smelt  of  gin.  When  Tommy  returned 
the  cups  she  noticed  not  only  that  they  were 
suspiciously  clean,  but  that  minute  particles  of 
the  mess  were  adhering  to  his  nose  and  chin 
(perched  there  like  shipwrecked  mariners  on  a 
rock,  just  out  of  reach  of  the  devouring  element), 
and  after  this  discovery  she  brought  two  cupfuls 
at  a  time.  She  was  an  Irishwoman  who  could 
have  led  the  House  of  Commons,  and  in  walk- 
ing she  seldom  raised  her  carpet  shoes  from  the 
ground,  perhaps  because  of  her  weight,  for  she 
had  an  expansive  figure  that  bulged  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  there  were  always  bits  of  her  here  and 

27 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

there  that  she  had  forgotten  to  lace.  Round  thr 
corner  was  a  delightful  eating-house,  through  whose 
window  you  were  allowed  to  gaze  at  the  great 
sweating  dumplings,  and  Tommy  thought  Shovel's 
mother  was  rather  like  a  dumpling  that  had  not 
been  a  complete  success.  If  he  ever  knew  her 
name  he  forgot  it.  Shovel,  who  probably  had  an- 
other name  also,  called  her  his  old  girl  or  his  old 
woman  or  his  old  lady,  and  it  was  a  sight  to  see 
her  chasing  him  across  the  street  when  she  was  in 
liquor,  and  boastful  was  Shovel  of  the  way  she 
could  lay  on,  and  he  was  partial  to  her  too,  and 
once  when  she  was  giving  it  to  him  pretty  strong 
with  the  tongs,  his  father  (who  followed  many  pro- 
fessions, among  them  that  of  finding  lost  dogs) 
had  struck  her  and  told  her  to  drop  it,  and  then 
Shovel  sauced  his  father  for  interfering,  saying  she 
should  lick  him  as  long  as  she  blooming  well 
liked,  which  made  his  father  go  for  him  with  a 
dog-collar ;  and  that  was  how  Shovel  lost  his  eye. 
For  reasons  less  unselfish  than  his  old  girl's 
Shovel  also  was  willing  to  make  up  to  Tommy  at 
this  humiliating  time.  It  might  be  said  of  these 
two  boys  that  Shovel  knew  everything  but  Tommy 
knew  other  things,  and  as  the  other  things  are  best 
worth  hearing  of,  Shovel  liked  to  listen  to  them, 
even  when  they  were  about  Thrums,  as  they  usu- 
ally were.  The  very  first  time  Tommy  told  him 

28 


TOMMY   A   YOUNG   GENTLEMAN 

of  the  wondrous  spot,  Shovel  had  drawn  a  great 
breath,  and  said,  thoughtfully : 

"  I  allers  knowed  as  there  were  sich  a  beauty 
place,  but  I  did  n't  jest  know  its  name." 

"  How  could  yer  know  ? "  Tommy  asked 
jealously. 

"  I  ain't  sure,"  said  Shovel,  "  p'raps  I  dreamed 
on  it." 

"  That's  it,"  Tommy  cried.  "  I  tell  yer,  every- 
body dreams  on  it ! "  and  Tommy  was  right ; 
everybody  dreams  of  it,  though  not  all  call  it 
Thrums. 

On  the  whole,  then,  the  coming  of  the  kid,  who 
turned  out  to  be  called  Elspeth,  did  not  ostracise 
Tommy,  but  he  wished  that  he  had  let  the  other  girl 
in,  for  he  never  doubted  that  her  admittance  would 
have  kept  this  one  out.  He  told  neither  his  mother 
nor  his  friend  of  the  other  girl,  fearing  that  his 
mother  would  be  angry  with  him  when  she  learned 
what  she  had  missed,  and  that  Shovel  would  crow 
over  his  blundering,  but  occasionally  he  took  a 
side  glance  at  the  victorious  infant,  and  a  poorer 
afiair,  he  thought,  he  had  never  set  eyes  on.  Some- 
times it  was  she  who  looked  at  him,  and  then  her 
chuckle  of  triumph  was  hard  to  bear.  As  long  as 
his  mother  was  there,  however,  he  endured  in 
silence,  but  the  first  day  she  went  out  in  a  vain 
search  for  work  (it  is  about  as  difficult  to  get 

29 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

washing  as  to  get  into  the  Cabinet),  he  gave  the 
infant  a  piece  of  his  mind,  poking  up  her  head 
with  a  stick  so  that  she  was  bound  to  listen. 

"  You  thinks  as  it  was  clever  on  you,  does  yer  ? 
Oh,  if  I  had  been  on  the  stair ! 

"  You  needn't  not  try  to  get  round  me.  I  likes  the 
other  one  five  times  better  ;  yes,  three  times  better. 

"Thievey,  thievey,  thief,  that's  her  place  you 
is  lying  in.  What  ? 

"If  you  puts  out  your  tongue  at  me  again  — ! 
What  do  yer  say  ? 

"  She  was  twice  bigger  than  you.  You  ain't  got 
no  hair,  nor  yet  no  teeth.  You're  the  littlest  I 
ever  seed.  Eh  ?  Don't  not  speak  then,  sulks  ! " 

Prudence  had  kept  him  away  from  the  other 
girl,  but  he  was  feeling  a  great  want :  someone  to 
applaud  him.  When  we  grow  older  we  call  it 
sympathy.  How  Reddy  (as  he  called  her  because 
she  had  beautiful  red-brown  hair)  had  appreciated 
him !  She  had  a  way  he  liked  of  opening  her 
eyes  very  wide  when  she  looked  at  him.  Oh, 
what  a  difference  from  that  thing  in  the  back  of 
the  bed ! 

Not  the  mere  selfish  desire  to  see  her  again, 
however,  would  take  him  in  quest  of  Reddy.  He 
was  one  of  those  superior  characters,  was  Tommy, 
who  got  his  pleasure  in  giving  it,  and  therefore 
gave  it.  Now,  Reddy  was  a  worthy  girl.  In  sus- 
pecting hei  of  overreaching  him  he  had  maligned 

So 


TOMMY  A   YOUNG  GENTLEMAN 

her :  she  had  taken  what  he  offered,  and  been 
thankful.  It  was  fitting  that  he  should  give  her  a 
treat :  let  her  see  him  again. 

His  mother  was  at  last  re-engaged  by  her  old 
employers,  her  supplanter  having  proved  unsatis- 
factory, and  as  the  work  lay  in  a  distant  street,  she 
usually  took  the  kid  with  her,  thus  leaving  no  one 
to  spy  on  Tommy's  movements.  Reddy's  reward 
for  not  playing  him  false,  however,  did  not  reach 
her  as  soon  as  doubtless  she  would  have  liked,  be- 
cause the  first  two  or  three  times  he  saw  her  she 
was  walking  with  the  lady  of  his  choice,  and  of 
course  he  was  not  such  a  fool  as  to  show  himself. 
But  he  walked  behind  them  and  noted  with  satis- 
faction that  the  lady  seemed  to  be  reconciled  to 
her  lot  and  inclined  to  let  bygones  be  bygones; 
when  at  length  Reddy  and  her  patron  met,  Tommy 
thought  this  a  good  sign  too,  that  Ma-ma  (as  she 
would  call  the  lady)  had  told  her  not  to  go  far- 
ther away  than  the  lamp-post,  lest  she  should  get 
lost  again.  So  evidently  she  had  got  lost  once  al- 
ready, and  the  lady  had  been  sorry.  He  asked 
Reddy  many  shrewd  questions  about  how  Ma-ma 
treated  her,  and  if  she  got  the  top  of  the  Sunday 
egg  and  had  the  licking  of  the  pan  and  wore  flan- 
nel underneath  and  slept  at  the  back;  and  the 
more  he  inquired,  the  more  clearly  he  saw  that  he 
had  got  her  one  of  the  right  kind. 

Tommy  arranged  with  her  that  she  should  al- 

31 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

ways  be  on  the  outlook  for  him  at  the  window,  and 
he  would  come  sometimes,  and  after  that  they  met 
frequently,  and  she  proved  a  credit  to  him,  gur- 
gling with  mirth  at  his  tales  of  Thrums,  and  pinch- 
ing him  when  he  had  finished,  to  make  sure  that 
he  was  really  made  just  like  common  human 
beings.  He  was  a  thin,  pale  boy,  while  she  looked 
like  a  baby  rose  full  blown  in  a  night  because  her 
time  was  short ;  and  his  movements  were  sluggish, 
but  if  she  was  not  walking  she  must  be  dancing, 
and  sometimes  when  there  were  few  people  in  the 
street,  the  little  armful  of  delight  that  she  was 
jumped  up  and  down  like  a  ball,  while  Tommy 
kept  the  time,  singing  "  Thrummy,  Thrummy, 
Thrum  Thrum  Thrummy."  They  must  have 
seemed  a  quaint  pair  to  the  lady  as  she  sat  at  her 
window  watching  them  and  beckoning  to  Tommy 
to  come  in. 

One  day  he  went  in,  but  only  because  she  had 
come  up  behind  and  taken  his  hand  before  he 
could  run.  Then  did  Tommy  quake,  for  he  knew 
from  Reddy  how  the  day  after  the  mother-making 
episode,  Ma-ma  and  she  had  sought  in  vain  for  his 
door,  and  he  saw  that  the  object  had  been  to  call 
down  curses  on  his  head.  So  that  head  was  hang- 
ing limply  now. 

You  think  that  Tommy  is  to  be  worsted  at  last, 
but  don't  be  too  sure ;  you  just  wait  and  see. 
Ma-ma  and  Reddy  (who  was  clucking  rather 

32 


TOMMY   A   YOUNG  GENTLEMAN 

heartlessly)  first  took  him  into  a  room  prettier 
even  than  the  one  he  had  lived  in  long  ago  (but 
there  was  no  bed  in  it),  and  then,  because  some 
one  they  were  in  search  of  was  not  there,  into  an- 
other room  without  a  bed  (where  on  earth  did 
they  sleep?)  whose  walls  were  lined  with  books. 
Never  having  seen  rows  of  books  before  except 
on  sale  in  the  streets,  Tommy  at  once  looked 
about  him  for  the  barrow.  The  table  was  strewn 
with  sheets  of  paper  of  the  size  that  they  roll  a 
quarter  of  butter  in,  and  it  was  an  amazing  thick 
table,  a  solid  square  of  wood,  save  for  a  narrow 
lane  down  the  centre  for  the  man  to  put  his  legs 
in  —  if  he  had  legs,  which  unfortunately  there  was 
reason  to  doubt.  He  was  a  formidable  man,  whose 
beard  licked  the  table  while  he  wrote,  and  he  wore 
something  like  a  brown  blanket,  with  a  rope  tied 
round  it  at  the  middle.  Even  more  uncanny  than 
himself  were  three  busts  on  a  shelf,  which  Tommy 
took  to  be  deaders,  and  he  feared  the  blanket  might 
blow  open  and  show  that  the  man  also  ended  at 
the  waist.  But  he  did  not,  for  presently  he  turned 
round  to  see  who  had  come  in  (the  seat  of  his  chair 
turning  with  him  in  the  most  startling  way),  and 
then  Tommy  was  relieved  to  notice  two  big  feet 
far  away  at  the  end  of  him. 

"  This  is  the  boy,  dear,"  the  lady  said.     "  I  had 
to  bring  him  in  by  force." 

Tommy  raised  his  arm  instinctively  to  protect 

as 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

his  face,  this  being  the  kind  of  man  who  could  hit 
hard.  But  presently  he  was  confused,  and  also, 
alas,  leering  a  little.  You  may  remember  that 
Reddy  had  told  him  she  must  not. go  beyond  the 
lamp-post,  lest  she  should  be  lost  again.  She  had 
given  him  no  details  of  the  adventure,  but  he 
learned  now  from  Ma-ma  and  Papa  (the  man's 
name  was  Papa)  that  she  had  strayed  when  Ma-ma 
was  in  a  shop  and  that  some  good  kind  boy  had 
found  her  and  brought  her  home:  and  what  do 
you  say  to  this,  they  thought  Tommy  was  that 
boy!  In  his  amazement  he  very  nearly  blurted 
out  that  he  was  the  other  boy,  but  just  then  the 
lady  asked  Papa  if  he  had  a  shilling,  and  this  ab- 
ruptly closed  Tommy's  mouth.  Ever  afterwards 
he  remembered  Papa  as  the  man  that  was  not  sure 
whether  he  had  a  shilling  until  he  felt  his  pockets 
• —  a  new  kind  of  mortal  to  Tommy,  who  grabbed 
the  shilling  when  it  was  offered  to  him,  and  then 
looked  at  Reddy  imploringly,  he  was  so  afraid  she 
would  tell.  But  she  behaved  splendidly,  and 
never  even  shook  her  head  at  him.  After  this,  as 
hardly  need  be  told,  his  one  desire  was  to  get  out 
of  the  house  with  his  shilling  before  they  discov- 
ered their  mistake,  and  it  was  well  that  they  were 
unsuspicious  people,  for  he  was  making  strange 
hissing  sounds  in  his  throat,  the  result  of  trying 
hard  to  keep  his  sniggers  under  control. 

There  were  many  ways  in  which  Tommy  could 


TOMMY    A    YOUNG   GENTLEMAN 

have  disposed  of  his  shilling.  He  m  ight  have  been 
a  good  boy  and  returned  it  next  day  to  Papa.  He 
might  have  given  Reddy  half  of  it  for  not  telling. 
It  could  have  carried  him  over  the  winter.  He 
might  have  stalked  with  it  into  the  shop  where 
the  greasy  puddings  were  and  come  rolling  out 
hours  afterwards.  Some  of  these  schemes  did 
cross  his  little  mind,  but  he  decided  to  spend  the 
whole  shilling  on  a  present  to  his  mother,  and  it 
was  to  be  something  useful.  He  devoted  much 
thought  to  what  she  was  most  in  need  of,  and  at 
last  he  bought  her  a  colored  picture  of  Lord  Byron 
swimming  the  Hellespont. 

He  told  her  that  he  got  his  shilling  from  two 
toffs  for  playing  with  a  little  girl,  and  the  explana- 
tion satisfied  her ;  but  she  could  have  cried  at  the 
waste  of  the  money,  which  would  have  been  such 
a  God-send  to  her.  He  cried  altogether,  how- 
ever, at  sight  of  her  face,  having  expected  it  to 
look  so  pleased,  and  then  she  told  him,  with  ca- 
resses, that  the  picture  was  the  one  thing  she  had 
been  longing  for  ever  since  she  came  to  London. 
How  had  he  known  this,  she  asked,  and  he  clapped 
his  hands  gleefully,  and  said  he  just  knowed  when 
he  saw  it  in  the  shop  window. 

"  It  was  noble  of  you,"  she  said,  "  to  spend  all 
ycur  siller  on  me." 

"  Wasn't  it,  mother? "  he  crowed.  "  I'm  think- 
ing there  ain't  many  as  noble  as  I  is !" 

35 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

He  did  not  say  why  he  had  been  so  good  to 
her,  but  it  was  because  she  had  written  no  letters 
to  Thrums  since  the  intrusion  of  Elspeth  ;  a  strange 
reason  for  a  boy  whose  greatest  glory  at  one  time 
had  been  to  sit  on  the  fender  and  exultingly  watch 
his  mother  write  down  words  that  would  be  read 
aloud  in  the  wonderful  place.  She  was  a  long 
time  in  writing  a  letter,  but  that  only  made  the 
whole  evening  romantic,  and  he  found  an  arduous 
employment  in  keeping  his  tongue  wet  in  prepara- 
tion for  the  licking  of  the  stamp. 

But  she  could  not  write  to  the  Thrums  folk 
now  without  telling  them  of  Elspeth,  who  was  at 
present  sleeping  the  sleep  of  the  shameless  in  the 
hollow  of  the  bed,  and  so  for  his  sake,  Tommy 
thought,  she  meant  to  write  no  more.  For  his 
sake,  mark  you,  not  for  her  own.  She  had  often 
told  him  that  some  day  he  should  go  to  Thrums, 
but  not  with  her ;  she  would  be  far  away  from  him 
then  in  a  dark  place  she  was  awid  to  be  lying  in. 
Thus  it  seemed  to  Tommy  that  she  denied  herself 
the  pleasure  of  writing  to  Thrums  lest  the  sorry 
news  of  Elspeth's  advent  should  spoil  his  reception 
when  he  went  north. 

So  grateful  Tommy  gave  her  the  picture,  hop- 
ing that  it  would  fill  the  void.  But  it  did  not. 
She  put  it  on  the  mantelpiece  so  that  she  might 
just  sit  and  look  at  it,  she  said,  and  he  grinned  at 
it  from  every  part  of  the  room,  but  when  he  re- 

36 


TOMMY   A   YOUNG   GENTLEMAN 

turned  to  her,  he  saw  that  she  was  neither  looking 
at  it  nor  thinking  of  it.  She  was  looking  straight 
before  her,  and  sometimes  her  lips  twitched,  and 
then  she  drew  tb^m  into  her  mouth  to  keep  them 
still.  It  is  a  kind  of  dry  weeping  that  sometimes 
comes  to  miserable  ones  when  their  minds  stray 
into  the  happy  past,  and  Tommy  sat  and  watched 
her  silently  for  a  long  time,  never  doubting  that 
the  cause  of  all  her  woe  was  that  she  could  not 
write  to  Thrums. 

He  had  seldom  seen  tears  on  his  mother's  face, 
but  he  saw  one  now.  They  had  been  reluctant  to 
come  for  many  a  day,  and  this  one  formed  itself 
beneath  her  eye  and  sat  there  like  a  blob  of  blood. 

His  own  began  to  come  more  freely.  But  she 
needn't  not  expect  him  to  tell  her  to  write  nor  to 
say  that  he  didn't  care  what  Thrums  thought  of 
him  so  long  as  she  was  happy. 

The  tear  rolled  down  his  mother's  thin  cheek  and 
fell  on  the  grey  shawl  that  had  come  from  Thrums. 

She  did  not  hear  her  boy  as  he  dragged  a  chair 
to  the  press  and  standing  on  it  got  something 
down  from  the  top  shelf.  She  had  forgotten  him, 
and  she  started  when  presently  the  pen  was  slipped 
into  her  hand  and  Tommy  said,  "  You  can  do  it, 
mother,  I  wants  yer  to  do  it,  mother,  I  won't  not 
greet,  mother!" 

When  she  saw  what  he  wanted  her  to  do  she 
patted  his  face  approvingly,  but  without  realizing 

37 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMM\ 

the  extent  of  his  sacrifice.  She  knew  that  he  had 
some  maggot  in  his  head  that  made  him  regard 
Elspeth  as  a  sore  on  the  family  honour,  but  ascribing 
his  views  to  jealousy  she  had  never  tried  seriously 
to  change  them.  Her  main  reason  for  sending  no 
news  to  Thrums  of  late  had  been  but  the  cost  of 
the  stamp,  though  she  was  also  a  little  conscience* 
stricken  at  the  kind  of  letters  she  wrote,  and  the 
sight  of  the  materials  lying  ready  for  her  proved 
sufficient  to  draw  her  to  the  table. 

"  Is  it  to  your  grandmother  you  is  writing  the 
letter  *?  "  Tommy  asked,  for  her  grandmother  had 
brought  Mrs.  Sandys  up  and  was  her  only  surviv- 
ing relative.  This  was  all  Tommy  knew  of  his 
mother's  life  in  Thrums,  though  she  had  told  him 
much  about  other  Thrums  folk,  and  not  till  long 
afterwards  did  he  see  that  there  must  be  something 
queer  about  herself,  which  she  was  hiding  from 
him. 

This  letter  was  not  for  her  granny,  however, 
and  Tommy  asked  next,  "  Is  it  to  Aaron  Latta  ?  " 
which  so  startled  her  that  she  dropped  the  pen. 

"  Whaur  heard  you  that  name  ? "  she  said 
sharply.  "  I  never  spoke  it  to  you." 

"  I've  heard  you  saying  it  when  you  was  sleep- 
ing, mother." 

"Did  I  say  onything  but  the  name?  Quick, 
tell  me." 

"  You  said,  '  Oh,  Aaron  Latta,  oh,  Aaron,  little 

38 


TOMMY    A   YOUNG   GENTLEMAN 

did  we  think,  Aaron/  and  things  like  that.  Aie 
you  angry  with  me,  mother  ?  " 

"No,"  she  said,  relieved,  but  it  was  some  time 
before  the  desire  to  write  came  back  to  her.  Then 
she  told  him,  "  The  letter  is  to  a  woman  that  was 
gey  cruel  to  me,"  adding,  with  a  complacent  purs- 
ing of  her  lips,  the  curious  remark,  "  That's  the 
kind  I  like  to  write  to  best." 

The  pen  went  scrape,  scrape,  but  Tommy  did 
not  weary,  though  he  often  sighed,  because  his 
mother  would  never  read  aloud  to  him  what  she 
wrote.  The  Thrums  people  never  answered  her 
letters,  for  the  reason,  she  said,  that  those  she  wrote 
to  could  not  write,  which  seemed  to  simple  Tommy 
to  be  a  sufficient  explanation.  So  he  had  never 
heard  the  inside  of  a  letter  talking,  though  a  post- 
man lived  in  the  house,  and  even  Shovel's  old  girl 
got  letters;  once  when  her  uncle  died  she  got  a 
telegram,  which  Shovel  proudly  wheeled  up  and 
down  the  street  in  a  barrow,  other  blokes  keeping 
guard  at  the  side.  To  give  a  letter  to  a  woman 
who  had  been  cruel  to  you  struck  Tommy  as  the 
height  of  nobility. 

"  She'll  be  uplifted  when  she  gets  it ! "  he  cried. 

"  She'll  be  mad  when  she  gets  it,"  answered  his 
mother,  without  looking  up. 

This  was  the  letter: — • 

MY  DEAR  ESTHER.,—  I  send  you  these  few  scrapes  to  let 
you  see  I  have  not  forgot  you,  though  my  way  is  now  grand  by 

39 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

yours  A  spleet  new  black  silk,  Esther,  being  the  second  in  a 
twelvemonth,  as  JCrn  a  living  woman.  The  other  is  no  none 
tashed  yet,  but  my  gudeman  fair  insisted  on  buying  a  new  one, 
for  says  he  "  Rich  folk  like  us  can  afford  to  be  mislaird,  and 
nothing's  ower  braw  for  my  bonny  Jean."  Tell  Aaron  Latta 
that.  When  I'm  sailing  in  my  silks,  Esther,  I  sometimes  pic- 
ture you  turning  your  wincey  again,  for  I'se  uphaud  that's  all 
the  new  frock  youVe  ha'en  the  year.  I  dinna  want  to  give  you 
a  scunner  of  your  man,  Esther,  more  by  token  they  said  if  your 
mither  had  not  took  him  in  hand  you  would  never  have  kent 
the  colour  of  his  nightcap,  but  when  you  are  wraxing  ower  your 
kail-pot  in  a  plot  of  heat,  just  picture  me  ringing  the  bell  for 
my  servant,  and  saying,  with  a  wave  of  my  hand,  "  Servant, 
lay  the  dinner."  And  ony  bonny  afternoon  when  your  man  is 
cleaning  out  stables  and  you're  at  the  tub  in  a  short  gown, 
picture  my  man  taking  me  and  the  children  out  a  ride  in  a  car- 
nage, and  I  sair  doubt  your  bairns  was  never  in  nothing  more 
genteel  than  a  coal  cart.  For  bairns  is  yours,  Esther,  and  chil- 
dren is  mine,  and  that's  a  burn  without  a  brig  till't. 

Deary  me,  Esther,  what  with  one  thing  and  another,  namely 
buying  a  sofa,  thirty  shillings  as  I'm  a  sinner,  I  have  forgot  to 
tell  you  about  my  second,  and  it's  a  girl  this  time,  my  man  say- 
ing he  would  like  a  change.  We  have  christened  her  Elspeth 
after  my  grandmamma,  and  if  my  auld  granny's  aye  living,  you 
can  tell  her  that's  her.  My  man  is  terrible  windy  of  his  two 
beautiful  children,  but  he  says  he  would  have  been  the  happiest 
gentleman  in  London  though  he  had  just  had  me,  and  really  his 
fondness  for  me,  it  cows,  Esther,  sitting  aside  me  on  the  bed, 
two  pounds  without  the  blankets,  about  the  time  Elspeth  was 
born,  and  feeding  me  with  the  fat  of  the  land,  namely,  tapiocas 
and  sherry  wine.  Tell  Aaron  Latta  that. 

I  pity  you  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  Esther,  for  having 
to  bide  in  Thrums,  but  you  have  never  seen  no  better,  your 
man  having  neither  the  siller  nor  the  desire  to  take  you  jaunts, 
and  I'm  thinking  that  is  just  as  well,  for  if  you  saw  how  the 


TOMMY  A   YOUNG  GENTLEMAN 

like  of  me  lives  it  might  disgust  you  with  your  own  bit  house. 
I  often  laugh,  Esther,  to  think  that  I  was  once  like  you,  and 
looked  upon  Thrums  as  a  bonny  place.  How  is  the  old  hole  ? 
My  son  makes  grand  sport  of  the  onfortunate  bairns  as  has  to 
bide  in  Thrums,  and  I  see  him  doing  it  the  now  to  his  favourite 
companion,  which  is  a  young  gentleman  of  ladylike  manners,  as 
bides  in  our  terrace.  So  no  more  at  present,  for  my  man  is 
sitting  ganting  for  my  society,  and  I  daresay  yours  is  crying  to 
you  to  darn  his  old  socks.  Mind  and  tell  Aaron  Latta. 

This  letter  was  posted  next  day  by  Tommy, 
with  the  assistance  of  Shovel,  who  seems  to  have 
been  the  young  gentleman  of  ladylike  manners 
referred  to  in  the  text 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  END  OF  AN  IDYLL 

TOMMY  never  saw  Reddy  again  owing  to  a  fright 
he  got  about  this  time,  for  which  she  was  really  to 
blame,  though  a  woman  who  lived  in  his  house 
was  the  instrument. 

It  is,  perhaps,  idle  to  attempt  a  summary  of 
those  who  lived  in  that  house,  as  one  at  least  will 
be  off,  and  another  in  his  place,  while  we  are  giv- 
ing them  a  line  apiece.  They  were  usually  this 
kind  who  lived  through  the  wall  from  Mrs.  San- 
dys, but  beneath  her  were  the  two  rooms  of 
Hinkey,  the  postman,  and  his  lodger,  the  dreariest 
of  middle-aged  clerks  except  when  telling  wist* 
fully  of  his  ambition,  which  was  to  get  out  of  the 
tea  department  into  the  coffee  department,  where 
there  is  an  easier  way  of  counting  up  the  figures. 
Shovel  and  family  were  also  on  this  floor,  and  in 
the  rooms  under  them  was  a  newly  married  couple. 
When  the  husband  was  away  at  his  work,  his  wife 
would  make  some  cRange  in  the  furniture,  taking 
the  picture  from  this  wail,  for  instance,  and  hanging 

42 


THE  END  OF  AN   IDYLL 


it  on  that  wall,  or  wheeling  the  funny  chair  she  had 
lain  in  before  she  could  walk  without  a  crutch,  to 
the  other  side  of  the  fireplace,  or  putting  a  skirt  of 
yellow  paper  round  the  flower  pot,  and  when  he  re- 
turned he  always  jumped  back  in  wonder  and  ex- 
claimed :  "  What  an  immense  improvement ! " 
These  two  were  so  fond  of  one  another  that  Tommy 
asked  them  the  reason,  and  they  gave  it  by  pointing 
to  the  chair  with  the  wheels,  which  seemed  to  him 
to  be  no  reason  at  all.  What  was  this  young  hus- 
band's trade  Tommy  never  knew,  but  he  was  the 
only  prettily  dressed  man  in  the  house,  and  he 
could  be  heard  roaring  in  his  sleep,  "And  the  next 
article?"  The  meanest  looking  man  lived  next 
door  to  him.  Every  morning  this  man  put  on  a 
clean  white  shirt,  which  sounds  like  a  splendid  be- 
ginning, but  his  other  clothes  were  of  the  seediest, 
and  he  came  and  went  shivering,  raising  his  shoul- 
ders to  his  ears  and  spreading  his  hands  over  his 
chest  as  if  anxious  to  hide  his  shirt  rather  than  to 
display  it.  He  and  the  happy  husband  were  nick- 
named Before  and  After,  they  were  so  like  the 
pictorial  advertisement  of  Man  before  and  after  he 
has  tried  Someone's  lozenges.  But  it  is  rash  to 
;Udge  by  outsides ;  Tommy  and  Shovel  one  day 
tracked  Before  to  his  place  of  business,  and  it 
proved  to  be  a  palatial  eating-house,  long,  narrow, 
padded  with  red  cushions;  through  the  door  they 
saw  the  once  despised,  now  in  beautiful  black 

43 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

clothes,  the  waistcoat  a  mere  nothing,  as  if  to  give 
his  shirt  a  chance  at  last,  a  towel  over  his  arm,  and 
to  and  fro  he  darted,  saying  "  Yessirquitesosir "  to 
the  toffs  on  the  seats,  shouting  "  Twovegonebeef 
—  onebeeronetartinahurry  "  to  someone  invisible, 
and  pocketing  twopences  all  day  long,  just  like  a 
lord.  On  the  same  floor  as  Before  and  After  lived 
the  large  family  of  the  little  Pikes,  who  quarrelled 
at  night  for  the  middle  place  in  the  bed,  and  then 
chips  of  ceiling  fell  into  the  room  below,  tenant 
Jim  Ricketts  and  parents,  lodger  the  young  wo- 
man we  have  been  trying  all  these  doors  for.  Her 
the  police  snapped  up  on  a  charge  that  made 
Tommy  want  to  hide  himself — child-desertion. 

Shovel  was  the  person  best  worth  listening  to 
on  the  subject  (observe  him,  the  centre  of  half  a 
dozen  boys),  and  at  first  he  was  for  the  defence, 
being  a  great  stickler  for  the  rights  of  mothers. 
But  when  the  case  against  the  girl  leaked  out,  she 
need  not  look  to  him  for  help.  The  police  had 
found  the  child  in  a  basket  down  an  area,  and  be- 
ing knowing  ones  they  pinched  it  to  make  it  cry, 
and  then  they  pretended  to  go  away.  Soon  the 
mother,  who  was  watching  hard  by  to  see  if  it  fell 
into  kind  hands,  stole  to  her  baby  to  comfort  it, 
"and  just  as  she  were  a-kissing  on  it  and  blubber- 
ing the  perlice  copped  her." 

"  The  slut !  "  said  disgusted  Shovel,  "  what  did 
she  hang  about  for  *?  "  and  in  answer  to  a  treml> 

dA 


THE   END   OF  AN   IDYLL 

ling  question  from  Tommy  he  replied  decisively, 
"  Six  months  hard." 

"  Next  case  "  was  probably  called  immediately, 
but  Tommy  vanished,  as  if  he  had  been  sentenced 
and  removed  to  the  cells. 

Never  again,  unless  he  wanted  six  months  hard, 
must  he  go  near  Reddy's  home,  and  so  he  now 
frequently  accompanied  his  mother  to  the  place 
where  she  worked.  The  little  room  had  a  funny 
fireplace  called  a  stove,  on  which  his  mother  made 
tea  and  the  girls  roasted  chestnuts,  and  it  had  no 
other  ordinary  furniture  except  a  long  form.  But 
the  walls  were  mysterious.  Three  of  them  were 
covered  with  long  white  cloths,  which  went  to  the 
side  when  you  tugged  them,  and  then  you  could 
see  on  rails  dozens  of  garments  that  looked  like 
nightgowns.  Beneath  the  form  were  scores  of  lit- 
tle shoes,  most  of  them  white  or  brown.  In  this 
house  Tommy's  mother  spent  eight  hours  daily, 
but  not  all  of  them  in  this  room.  When  she  ar- 
rived the  first  thing  she  did  \vas  to  put  Elspeth  on 
the  floor,  because  you  cannot  fall  off  a  floor;  then 
she  went  upstairs  with  a  bucket  and  a  broom  to  a 
large  bare  room,  where  she  stayed  so  long  that 
Tommy  nearly  forgot  what  she  was  like. 

While  his  mother  was  upstairs  Tommy  would 
give  Elspeth  two  or  three  shoes  to  eat  to  keep  her 
quiet,  and  then  he  played  with  the  others,  pretend- 
ing to  be  able  to  count  them,  arranging  them  in 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

designs,  shooting  them,  swimming  among  them, 
saying  "bow-wow"  at  them  and  then  turning 
sharply  to  see  who  had  said  it.  Soon  Elspeth 
dropped  her  shoes  and  gazed  in  admiration  at  him, 
but  more  often  than  -not  she  laughed  in  the  wrong 
place,  and  then  he  said  ironically :  "  Oh,  in  course 
I  can't  do  nothin' ;  jest  let's  see  you  doing  of  it, 
then,  cocky!" 

By  the  time  the  girls  began  to  arrive,  singly  or 
in  twos  and  threes,  his  mother  was  back  in  the 
little  room,  making  tea  for  herself  or  sewing  bits 
of  them  that  had  been  torn  as  they  stepped  out  of 
a  cab,  or  helping  them  to  put  on  the  nightgowns, 
or  pretending  to  listen  pleasantly  to  their  chatter 
and  hating  them  all  the  time.  There  was  every 
kind  of  them,  gorgeous  ones  and  shabby  ones,  old 
tired  ones  and  dashing  young  ones,  but  whether 
they  were  the  Honorable  Mrs.  Something  or  only 
Jane  Anything,  they  all  came  to  that  room  for 
the  same  purpose :  to  get  a  little  gown  and  a  pair 
of  shoes.  Then  they  went  upstairs  and  danced  to 
a  stout  little  lady,  called  the  Sylph,  who  bobbed 
about  like  a  ball  at  the  end  of  a  piece  of  elastic. 
What  Tommy  never  forgot  was  that  while  they 
danced  the  Sylph  kept  saying,  "  One,  two,  three, 
four;  one,  two,  three,  four,"  which  they  did  not 
seem  to  mind,  but  when  she  said,  "One,  two,  three, 
four,  picture!"  they  all  stopped  and  stood  motion- 
less, though  it  might  be  with  one  foot  as  high  at/ 

46 


THE  END   OF  AN   IDYLL 

their  head  and  their  arms  stretched  out  toward  the 
floor,  as  if  they  had  suddenly  seen  a  halfpenny 
there. 

In  the  waiting-room,  how  they  joked  and  pirou- 
etted and  gossiped,  and  hugged  and  scorned  each 
other,  and  what  slang  they  spoke  and  how  pretty 
they  often  looked  next  moment,  and  how  they 
denounced  the  one  that  had  just  gone  out  as  a 
cat  with  whom  you  could  not  get  in  a  word  edge- 
ways, and  oh,  how  prompt  they  were  to  give  a 
slice  of  their  earnings  to  any  "  cat ''  who  was  hard 
up!  But  still,  they  said,  she  had  talent,  but  no 
genius.  How  they  pitied  people  without  genius. 

Have  you  ever  tasted  an  encore  or  a  reception  ? 
Tommy  never  had  his  teeth  in  one,  but  he  heard 
much  about  them  in  that  room,  and  concluded  that 
they  were  some  sort  of  cake.  It  was  not  the  girls 
who  danced  in  groups,  but  those  who  danced 
alone,  that  spoke  of  their  encores  and  receptions, 
and  sometimes  they  had  got  them  last  night, 
sometimes  years  ago.  Two  girls  met  in  the  room, 
one  of  whom  had  stolen  the  other's  reception,  and 
—  but  it  was  too  dreadful  to  write  about.  Most 
of  them  carried  newspaper  cuttings  in  their  purses 
and  read  them  aloud  to  the  others,  who  would  not 
listen.  Tommy  listened,  however,  and  as  it  was 
all  about  how  one  house  had  risen  at  the  girls  and 
they  had  brought  another  down,  he  thought  they 
led  the  most  adventurous  lives. 

47 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Occasionally  they  sent  him  out  to  buy  newspa* 
pers  or  chestnuts,  and  then  he  had  to  keep  a  sharp 
eye  on  the  police  lest  they  knew  about  Reddy. 
It  was  a  point  of  honour  with  all  the  boys  he 
knew  to  pretend  that  the  policeman  was  after 
them.  To  gull  the  policeman  into  thinking  all 
was  well  they  blackened  their  faces  and  wore  their 
jackets  inside  out;  their  occupation  was  a  con* 
stant  state  of  readiness  to  fly  from  him,  and  when 
he  tramped  out  of  sight,  unconscious  of  their  ex- 
istence, they  emerged  from  dark  places  and  spoke 
in  exultant  whispers.  Tommy  had  been  proud  to 
join  them,  but  he  now  resented  their  going  on  in 
this  way ;  he  felt  that  he  alone  had  the  right  to  fly 
from  the  law.  And  once  at  least  while  he  was 
flying  something  happened  to  him  that  he  was  to 
remember  better,  far  better,  than  his  mother's  face. 

What  set  him  running  on  this  occasion  (he  had 
been  sent  out  to  get  one  of  the  girls'  shoes  soled) 
was  the  grandest  sight  to  be  seen  in  London  —  an 
endless  row  of  policemen  walking  in  single  file, 
all  with  the  right  leg  in  the  air  at  the  same  time, 
then  the  left  leg.  Seeing  at  once  that  they  were 
after  him,  Tommy  ran,  ran,  ran  until  in  turning  a 
corner  he  found  himself  wedged  between  two  legs. 
He  was  of  just  sufficient  size  to  fill  the  aperture, 
but  after  a  momentary  lock  he  squeezed  through, 
and  they  proved  to  be  the  gate  into  an  enchanted 
land 


THE  END  OF  AN   IDYLL 

The  magic  began  at  once.  "Dagont,  you 
sacket!"  cried  some  wizard. 

A  policeman's  hand  on  his  shoulder  could  not 
have  taken  the  wind  out  of  Tommy  more  quickly. 
In  the  act  of  starting  a-running  again  he  brought 
down  his  hind  foot  with  a  thud  and  stood  stock  still. 
Can  any  one  wonder  ?  1 1  was  the  Thrums  tongue,  and 
this  the  first  time  he  heard  it  except  from  his  mother. 

It  was  a  dull  day,  and  all  the  walls  were  dripping 
wet,  this  being  the  part  of  London  where  the  fogs 
\are  kept.  Many  men  and  women  were  passing  to 
and  fro,  and  Tommy,  with  a  wild  exultation  in  his 
breast,  peered  up  at  the  face  of  this  one  and  that ; 
but  no.  they  were  only  ordinary  people,  and  he 
played  rub-a-dub  with  his  feet  on  the  pavement, 
so  furious  was  he  with  them  for  moving  on  as  if 
nothing  had  happened.  Draw  up,  ye  carters ;  pe- 
destrians, stand  still;  London,  silence  for  a  mo- 
ment, and  let  Tommy  Sandys  listen ! 

Being  but  a  frail  plant  in  the  way  of  a  flood, 
Tommy  was  rooted  up  and  borne  onward,  but  he 
did  not  feel  the  buffeting.  In  a  passion  of  grief 
he  dug  his  fists  in  his  eyes,  for  the  glory  had  been 
his  for  but  a  moment,  It  can  be  compared  to 
nothing  save  the  parcel  (attached  to  a  concealed 
string)  which  Shovel  and  he  once  placed  on  the 
stair  for  Billy  Hankey  to  find,  and  then  whipped 
away  from  him  just  as  he  had  got  it  under  his  arm. 
But  so  near  the  crying,  Tommy  did  not  cry,  for 

49 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

even  while  the  tears  were  rushing  to  his  aid  he 
tripped  on  the  step  of  a  shop,  and  immediately,  as 
if  that  had  rung  the  magic  bell  again,  a  voice,  a 
woman's  voice  this  time,  said  shrilly, "  Threepence 
ha'penny,  and  them  jimply  as  big  as  a  bantam's ! 
Na,  na,  but  I'll  gi'e  you  five  bawbees." 

Tommy  sat  down  flop  on  the  step,  feeling  queer 
in  the  head.  Was  it  —  was  it  —  was  it  Thrums  ^ 
He  knew  he  had  been  running  a  long  time. 

The  woman,  or  fairy,  or  whatever  you  choose  to 
call  her,  came  out  of  the  shop  and  had  to  push 
Tommy  aside  to  get  past.  Oh,  what  a  sweet  foot 
to  be  kicked  by.  At  the  time,  he  thought  she 
was  dressed  not  unlike  the  women  of  his  own  stair, 
but  this  defect  in  his  vision  he  mended  afterward, 
as  you  may  hear.  Of  course,  he  rose  and  trotted 
by  her  side  like  a  dog,  looking  up  at  her  as  if  she 
were  a  cathedral ;  but  she  mistook  his  awe  for  im- 
pudence and  sent  him  sprawling,  with  the  words, 
"  Tak'  that,  you  glowering  partan ! " 

Do  you  think  Tommy  resented  this*?  On  the 
contrary,  he  screamed  from  where  he  lay,  "  Say  it 
again  !  say  it  again ! " 

She  was  gone,  however,  but  only,  as  it  were,  to 
let  a  window  open,  from  which  came  the  cry, 
"  Davit,  have  you  seen  my  man  ?  " 

A  male  fairy  roared  back  from  some  invisible 
pi.ice,  "  He  has  gone  yont  to  Petey's  wi'  the  dam- 
brod." 

50 


THE  END   OF  AN   IDYLL 

"  I'll  dambrod  him !  "  said  the  female  fairy,  and 
the  window  shut. 

Tommy  was  now  staggering  like  one  intoxicated, 
but  he  had  still  some  sense  left  him,  and  he  walked 
up  and  down  in  front  of  this  house,  as  if  to  take  care 
of  it.  In  the  middle  of  the  street  some  boys  were 
.  very  busy  at  a  game,  carts  and  lorries  passing  over 
them  occasionally.  They  came  to  the  pavement  to 
play  marbles,  and  then  Tommy  noticed  that  one  of 
them  wore  what  was  probably  a  glengarry  bonnet. 
Could  he  be  a  Thrums  boy?  At  first  he  played 
in  the  stupid  London  way,  but  by  and  by  he  had 
to  make  a  new  ring,  and  he  did  it  by  whirling 
round  on  one  foot.  Tommy  knew  from  his 
mother  that  it  is  only  done  in  this  way  in  Thrums. 
Oho !  Oho ! 

By  this  time  he  was  prancing  round  his  dis- 
covery, saying,  "  I'm  one,  too  —  so  am  I  —  da* 
gont,  does  yer  hear  *?  dagont ! "  which  so  alarmed 
the  boy  that  he  picked  up  his  marble  and  fled, 
Tommy,  of  course,  after  him.  Alas !  he  must  have 
been  some  mischievous  sprite,  for  he  lured  his  pur- 
suer back  into  London  and  then  vanished,  and 
Tommy,  searching  in  vain  for  the  enchanted  street, 
found  his  own  door  instead. 

His  mother  pooh-poohed  his  tale,  though  he 
described  the  street  exactly  as  it  struck  him  on 
reflection,  and  it  bore  a  curious  resemblance  to  the 
palace  of  Aladdin  that  Reddy  had  told  him  about, 

$1 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

leaving  his  imagination  to  fill  in  the  details,  which 
it  promptly  did,  with  a  square,  a  town-house,  some 
outside  stairs,  and  an  Auld  Licht  kirk.  There  was 
no  such  street,  however,  his  mother  assured  him ; 
he  had  been  dreamingo  But  if  this  were  so,  why 
was  she  so  anxious  to  make  him  promise  never  to 
look  for  the  place  again  *? 

He  did  go  in  search  of  it  again,  daily  for  a  time, 
always  keeping  a  look-out  for  bow-legs,  and  the 
moment  he  saw  them,  he  dived  recklessly  between, 
hoping  to  come  out  into  fairyland  on  the  other 
side.  For  though  he  had  lost  the  street,  he  knew 
that  this  was  the  way  in. 

Shovel  had  never  heard  of  the  street,  nor  had 
Bob.  But  Bob  gave  him  something  that  almost 
made  him  forget  it  for  a  time.  Bob  was  his  favour- 
ite among  the  dancing  girls,  and  she  —  or  should 
it  be  he  V  The  odd  thing  about  these  girls  was 
that  a  number  of  them  were  really  boys  —  or  at 
least  were  boys  at  Christmas-time,  which  seemed 
to  Tommy  to  be  even  stranger  than  if  they  had 
been  boys  all  the  year  round.  A  friend  of  Bob's 
remarked  to  her  one  day,  "  You  are  to  be  a  girl 
next  winler,  ain't  you,  Bob  ?  "  and  Bob  shook  her 
head  scornfully. 

"  Do  you  see  any  green  in  my  eye,  my  dear  ?  " 
ishe  inquired. 

Her  friend  did  not  look,  but  Tommy  looked, 
and  there  was  none.  He  assured  her  of  this  so 

52 


THE  END   OF   AN   IDYLL 

earnestly  that  Bob  fell  in  love  with  him  on  the 
spot,  and  chucked  him  under  the  chin,  first  with 
her  thumb  and  then  with  her  toe,  which  feat  was 
duly  reported  to  Shovel,  who  could  do  it  by  the 
end  of  the  week. 

Did  Tommy,  Bob  wanted  to  know,  still  think 
her  a  mere  woman  *? 

No,  he  withdrew  the  charge,  but  —  but —  She 
was  wearing  her  outdoor  garments,  and  he  pointed 
to  them.  "  Why  does  yer  wear  them,  then  ?  "  he 
demanded. 

"  For  the  matter  of  that,"  she  replied,  pointing 
at  his  frock,  "  why  do  you  wear  them  *?  "  Where- 
upon Tommy  began  to  cry. 

"  I  ain't  not  got  no  right  ones,"  he  blubbered. 
Harum-scarum  Bob,  who  was  a  trump,  had  him 
in  her  motherly  arms  immediately,  and  the  upshot 
of  it  was  that  a  blue  suit  she  had  worn  when  she 
was  Sam  Something  changed  owqers.  Mrs.  San- 
dys "  made  it  up,"  and  that  is  how  Tommy  got 
into  trousers. 

Many  contingencies  were  considered  in  the  mak- 
ing, but  the  suit  would  fit  Tommy  by  and  by  if 
he  grew,  or  it  shrunk,  and  they  did  not  pass  each 
other  in  the  night.  When  proud  Tommy  first 
put  on  his  suit  the  most  unexpected  shyness  over- 
came him,  and  having  set  off  vaingloriously  he 
stuck  on  the  stair  and  wanted  to  hide.  Shovel, 
who  had  been  having  an  argument  with  his  old 

53 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

girl,  came,  all  boastful  bumps,  to  htm,  and  Tommy 
just  stood  still  with  a  self-conscious  simuer  on  his 
face.  And  Shovel,  who  could  have  damped  him 
considerably,  behaved  in  a  most  honorable  man- 
ner, initiating  him  gravely  into  the  higher  life, 
much  as  you  show  the  new  member  round  your 
club. 

It  was  very  risky  to  go  back  to  Reddy,  whom 
he  had  not  seen  for  many  weeks ;  but  in  trousers ! 
He  could  not  help  it.  He  only  meant  to  walk  up 
and  down  her  street,  so  that  she  might  see  him 
from  the  window,  and  know  that  this  splendid 
thing  was  he ;  but  though  he  went  several  times 
into  the  street,  Reddy  never  came  to  the  window. 

The  reason  he  had  to  waif  in  vain  at  Reddy's 
door  was  that  she  was  dead ;  she  had  been  dead  for 
quite  a  long  time  when  Tommy  came  back  to 
look  for  herc  You  mothers  who  have  lost  your 
babies,  I  should  be  a  sorry  knave  were  I  to  ask 
you  to  cry  now  over  the  death  of  another  woman's 
child.  Reddy  had  been  lent  to  two  people  for  a 
very  little  while,  just  as  your  babies  were,  and 
when  the  time  was  up  she  blew  a  kiss  to  them  and 
ran  gleefully  back  to  God.  just  as  your  babies  did. 
The  gates  of  heaven  are  so  easily  found  when  we 
are  little,  and  they  are  always  standing  open  to  let 
children  wander  in. 

But  though  Reddy  was  gone  away  forever, 
mamma  still  lived  in  that  house,  and  on  a  day  she 

54 


THE  END  OF  AN   IDYLL 

opened  the  door  to  come  out.  Tommy  was  stand- 
ing there  —  she  saw  him  there  waiting  for  Reddy. 
Dry-eyed  this  sorrowful  woman  had  heard  the  sen- 
tence pronounced,  dry-eyed  she  had  followed  the 
little  coffin  to  its  grave ;  tears  had  not  come  even 
when  waking  from  illusive  dreams  she  put  out  her 
hand  in  bed  to  a  child  who  was  not  there;  but 
when  she  saw  Tommy  waiting  at  the  door  for 
Reddy,  who  had  been  dead  for  a  month,  her  bosom 
moved  and  she  could  cry  again. 

Those  tears  were  sweet  to  her  husband,  and  it 
was  he  who  took  Tommy  on  his  knee  in  the  room 
where  the  books  were,  and  told  him  that  there  was 
no  Reddy  now.  When  Tommy  knew  that  Reddy 
was  a  deader  he  cried  bitterly,  and  the  man  said, 
very  gently9  "  I  am  glad  you  were  so  fond  of  her." 

"  'Tain't  that,"  Tommy  answered  with  a  knuckle 
in  his  eye,  "  'tain't  that  as  makes  me  cry."  He 
looked  down  at  his  trousers  and  in  a  fresh  out- 
burst of  childish  grief  he  wailed,  "It's  them!" 

Papa  did  not  understand,  but  the  boy  explained. 
"  She  can't  not  never  see  tt  em  now,"  he  sobbed, 
•'and  I  wants  her  to  see  them,  and  they  has 
pockets ! " 

It  had  come  to  the  man  unexpectedly.  He 
put  Tommy  down  almost  roughly,  and  raised  his 
hand  to  his  head  as  if  he  felt  a  sudden  pain  there. 

But  Tommy,  you  know,  was  only  a  little  boy. 


55 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  GIRL   WITH   TWO   MOTHERS 

ELSPETH  at  last  did  something  to  win  Tommy's 
respect ;  she  fell  ill  of  an  ailment  called  in  Thrums 
the  croup.  When  Tommy  first  heard  his  mother 
call  it  croup,  he  thought  she  was  merely  humour- 
ing Elspeth,  and  that  it  was  nothing  more  distin- 
guished than  London  whooping-cough,  but  on 
learning  that  it  was  genuine  croup,  he  began  to 
survey  the  ambitious  little  creature  with  a  new 
interest. 

This  was  well  for  Elspeth,  as  she  had  now  to 
spend  most  of  the  day  at  home  with  him,  their 
mother,  whose  health  was  failing  through  frequent 
attacks  of  bronchitis,  being  no  longer  able  to  carry 
her  through  the  streets.  Of  course  Elspeth  took 
to  repaying  his  attentions  by  loving  him,  and  he 
soon  suspected  it,  and  then  gloomily  admitted  it 
to  himself,  but  never  to  Shovel.  Being  but  an 
Englishman,  Shovel  saw  no  reason  why  relatives 
should  conceal  their  affection  for  each  other,  but 
he  played  on  this  Scottish  weakness  of  Tommy's 
with  cruel  enjoyment 

56 


THE  GIRL  WITH   TWO   MOTHERS 

"  She's  fond  oa  yer ! "  he  would  say  severely. 

"  You's  a  liar." 

"  Gar  long !     I  believe  as  you're  fond  on  her !  * 

"  You  jest  take  care,  Shovel." 

"Ain't  yer?" 

"Na-o!" 

"Will  yer  swear?" 

"  So  I  will  swear." 

"  Let's  hear  yer." 

"  Dagont ! " 

So  for  a  time  the  truth  was  kept  hidden,  and 
Shovel  retired,  casting  aspersions,  and  offering  to 
eat  all  the  hair  on  Elspeth's  head  for  a  penny. 

This  hair  was  white  at  present,  which  made 
Tommy  uneasy  about  her  future,  but  on  the  whole 
he  thought  he  might  make  something  of  her  if  she 
was  only  longer.  Sometimes  he  stretched  her  on 
the  floor,  pulling  her  legs  out  straight,  for  she  had 
a  silly  way  of  doubling  them  up,  and  then  he 
measured  her  carefully  with  his  mother's  old 
boots.  Her  growth  proved  to  be  distressingly 
irregular,  as  one  day  she  seemed  to  have  grown 
an  inch  since  last  night,  and  then  next  day  she 
had  shrunk  two  inches. 

After  her  day's  work  Mrs.  Sandys  was  now  so 
listless  that,  had  not  Tommy  interfered,  Elspeth 
would  have  been  a  backward  child.  Reddy  had 
been  able  to  walk  from  the  first  day,  and  so  of 
course  had  he,  but  this  little  slow-coach's  legs 

57 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

wobbled  at  the  joints,  like  the  blade  of  a  knife 
without  a  springe  The  question  of  questions  was 
How  to  keep  her  on  end  ? 

Tommy  sat  on  the  fender  revolving  this  prob- 
lem, his  head  resting  on  his  hand,  that  favourite 
position  of  mighty  intellects  when  about  to  be 
photographed.  Elspeth  lay  on  her  stomach  on 
the  floor,  gazing  earnestly  at  him,  as  if  she  knew 
she  was  in  his  thoughts  for  some  stupendous  pur- 
pose. Thus  the  apple  may  have  looked  at  New- 
ton before  it  fell. 

Hankey,  the  postman,  compelled  the  flowers  in 
his  window  to  stand  erect  by  tying  them  to  sticks, 
so  Tommy  took  two  sticks  from  a  bundle  of  fire- 
wood, and  splicing  Elspeth's  legs  to  them,  held  her 
upright  against  the  door  with  one  hand.  All  he 
asked  of  her  to-day  was  to  remain  in  this  position 
after  he  said  "  One,  two,  three,  four,  picture  !  "  and 
withdrew  his  hand,  but  down  she  flopped  every 
time,  and  he  said,  with  scorn, 

"  You  ain't  got  no  genius :  you  has  just  talent." 

But  he  had  her  in  bed  with  the  scratches  nicely 
covered  up  before  his  mother  came  home. 

He  tried  another  plan  with  more  success.  Lost 
dogs,  it  may  be  remembered,  had  a  habit  of  fol- 
lowing Shovel's  father,  and  he  not  only  took  the 
wanderers  in,  but  taugh"  '-hem  how  to  beg  and 
shake  hands  and  walk  on  two  legs.  Tommy  had 
sometimes  been  present  at  these  agreeable  exer- 

58 


THE  GIRL   WITH   TWO   MOTHERS 

cises,  and  being  an  inventive  boy  he  —  But  as 
Elspeth  was  a  nice  girl,  let  it  suffice  to  pause  here 
and  add  shyly,  that  in  time  she  could  walk. 

He  also  taught  her  to  speak,  and  if  you  need  to 
be  told  with  what  luscious  word  he  enticed  her  into 
language  you  are  sentenced  to  re-read  the  first 
pages  of  his  life,, 

"Thrums,"  he  would  say  persuasively,  "Thrums, 
Thrums.  You  opens  your  mouth  like  this,  and 
shuts  it  like  this,  and  that's  it."  Yet  when  he  had 
coaxed  her  thus  for  many  days,  what  does  she 
do  but  break  her  long  silence  with  the  word 
"  Tommy ! "  The  recoil  knocked  her  over. 

Soon  afterward  she  brought  down  a  bigger  bird. 
No  Londoner  can  say  "Auld  licht,"  and  Tommy 
had  often  crowed  over  Shovel's  "  Ol  likt."  When 
the  testing  of  Elspeth  could  be  deferred  no  longer, 
he  eyed  her  with  the  look  a  hen  gives  the  green 
egg  on  which  she  has  been  sitting  twenty  days, 
but  Elspeth  triumphed,  saying  the  words  modestly 
even,  as  if  nothing  inside  her  told  her  she  had 
that  day  done  something  which  would  have  baf- 
fled Shakespeare,  not  to  speak  of  most  of  the  gen- 
tlemen who  sit  for  Scotch  constituencies. 

"Reddy  couldn't  say  it!"  Tommy  cried  ex- 
ultantly, and  from  that  great  hour  he  had  no  more 
fears  for  ElspetL 

Next  the  alphabet  knocked  for  admission ;  and 
entered  first  M  and  P,  which  had  prominence  in 

59 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

the  only  poster  visible  from  the  window.  Mrs. 
Sandys  had  taught  Tommy  his  letters,  but  he  had 
got  into  words  by  studying  posters. 

Elspeth  being  able  now  to  make  the  perilous 
descent  of  the  stairs,  Tommy  guided  her  through 
the  streets  (letting  go  hurriedly  if  Shovel  hove  in 
sight),  and  here  she  bagged  new  letters  daily. 
With  Catling's  something,  which  is  the  best,  she 
got  into  capital  Cs ;  ys  are  found  easily  when  you 
know  where  to  look  for  them  (they  hang  on  be- 
hind) ;  Xs  are  never  found  singly,  but  often  three 
at  a  time ;  ^  is  so  aristocratic  that  even  Tommy 
had  only  heard  of  it ;  doubtless  it  was  there,  but 
indistinguishable  among  the  masses  like  a  celebrity 
in  a  crowd ;  on  the  other  hand,  big  A  and  little  e 
were  so  dirt  cheap,  that  these  two  scholars  passed 
them  with  something  very  like  a  sneer. 

The  printing-press  is  either  the  greatest  blessing 
or  the  greatest  curse  of  modern  times,  one  some- 
times forgets  which.  Elspeth's  faith  in  it  was  ab- 
solute, and  as  it  only  spoke  to  her  from  placards9 
here  was  her  religion,  at  the  age  of  four  ° 

PRAY  WITHOUT  CEASING. 

HAPPY    ARE    THEY    WHO    NEEDING    KNOW   THE 

PAINLESS  POROUS  PLASTER. 

Of  religion,  Tommy  had  said  many  fine  things 
to  her,  embellishments  on  the  simple  doctrine 
taught  him  by  his  mother  before  the  miseries  of 

60 


THE   GIRL   WITH    TWO   MOTHERS 

this  world  made  her  indifferent  to  the  next.  But 
the  meaning  of  "  Pray  without  ceasing,"  Elspeth, 
who  was  God's  child  always,  seemed  to  find  out  for 
herself,  and  it  cured  all  her  troubles.  She  prayed 
promptly  for  every  one  she  saw  doing  wrong,  in- 
cluding Shovel,  who  occasionally  had  words  with 
Tommy  on  the  subject,  and  she  not  only  prayed 
for  her  mother,  but  proposed  to  Tommy  that  they 
should  buy  her  a  porous  plaster.  Mrs.  Sandys  had 
been  down  with  bronchitis  again. 

Tommy  raised  the  monetary  difficulty. 

Elspeth  knew  where  there  was  some  money,  and 
it  was  her  very  own. 

Tommy  knew  where  there  was  money,  and  it 
was  his  very  own, 

Elspeth  would  not  tell  how  much  she  had,  and 
it  was  twopence  halfpenny0 

Neither  would  Tommy  tell,  and  it  was  two- 
pence. 

Tommy  would  get  a  surprise  on  his  birthday. 

So  would  Elspeth  get  a  surprise  on  her  birth- 
day. 

Elspeth  would  not  tell  what  the  surprise  was  to 
be,  and  it  was  to  be  a  gun0 

Tommy  also  must  remain  mute,  and  it  was  to 
be  a  box  of  dominoes. 

Elspeth  did  not  want  dominoes. 

Tommy  knew  that,  but  he  wanted  them0  / 

Klspeth  discovered  that  guns  cost  fourpence,  and 
61 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

dominoes  threepence  halfpenny ;  it  seemed  to  her, 
therefore,  that  Tommy  was  defrauding  her  of  a 
halfpenny. 

Tommy  liked  her  cheek.  You  got  the  domi- 
noes for  threepence  halfpenny,  but  the  price  on 
the  box  is  fivepence,  so  that  Elspeth  would  really 
owe  him  a  penny. 

This  led  to  an  agonizing  scene  in  which  Elspetu 
wept  while  Tommy  told  her  sternly  about  Reddy. 
It  had  become  his  custom  to  tell  the  tale  of  Reddy 
when  Elspeth  was  obstreperous. 

Then  followed  a  scene  in  which  Tommy  called 
himself  a  scoundrel  for  frightening  his  dear  Els- 
peth, and  swore  that  he  loved  none  but  her.  Re- 
sujt :  reconciliation,  and  agreed,  that  instead  of  a 
gun  and  dominoes,  they  should  buy  a  porous 
plaster.  You  know  the  shops  where  the  plasters 
are  to  be  obtained  by  great  coloured  bottles  in  their 
windows,  and,  as  it  was  advisable  to  find  the  very 
best  shop,  Tommy  and  Elspeth  in  their  wander- 
ings came  under  the  influence  of  the  bottles,  red, 
yellow,  green,  and  blue,  and  colour  entered  into 
their  lives,  giving  them  many  delicious  thrills. 
These  bottles  are  the  first  poem  known  to  the 
London  child*,  and  you  chemists  who  are  beginning 
to  do  without  them  in  your  windows  should  be 
told  that  it  is  a  shame. 

In  the  glamour,  then,  of  the  romantic  bottles 
walked  Tommy  and  Elspeth  hand  in  hand,  meet 

62 


THE  GIRL   WITH   TWO   MOTHERS 

ing  so  many  novelties  that  they  might  have  spared 
a  tear  for  the  unfortunate  children  who  sit  in  nur- 
series surrounded  by  all  they  ask  for,  and  if  the 
adventures  of  these  two  frequently  ended  in  the 
middle,  they  had  probably  begun  another  while 
the  sailor-suit  boy  was  still  holding  up  his  leg  to 
let  the  nurse  put  on  his  little  sock.  While  they 
wandered,  they  drew  near  unwittingly  to  the  en- 
chanted street,  to  which  the  bottles  are  a  coloured 
way,  and  at  last  they  were  in  it,  but  Tommy  rec- 
ognized it  not;  he  did  not  even  feel  that  he  was 
near  it,  for  there  were  no  outside  stairs,  no  fairies 
strolling  about,  it  was  a  short  street  as  shabby  as  his 
own. 

But  someone  had  shouted  "  Dinna  haver,  lassie ; 
you're  blethering ! " 

Tommy  whispered  to  Eispeth,  "  Be  still ;  don't 
speak,"  and  he  gripped  her  hand  tighter  and  stared 
at  the  speaker.  He  was  a  boy  of  ten,  dressed  like 
a  Londoner,  and  his  companion  had  disappeared. 
Tommy  never  doubting  but  that  he  was  the  sprite 
of  long  ago,  gripped  him  by  the  sleeve.  All  the 
savings  of  Eispeth  and  himself  were  in  his  pocket, 
and  yielding  to  impulse,  as  was  his  way,  he  thrust 
the  fourpence  halfpenny  into  James  GJoag's  hand. 
The  new  millionaire  gaped,  but  not  at  His  patron, 
for  the  why  and  wherefore  of  this  gift  were  trifles 
to  James  beside  the  tremendous  fact  that  he  had 
fourpence  halfpenny.  "  Almichty  me ! "  he  cried 

63 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

and  bolted.  Presently  he  returned,  having  de- 
posited his  money  in  a  safe  place,  and  his  first  re- 
mark was  perhaps  the  meanest  on  record.  He 
held  out  his  hand  and  said  greedily,  "  Have  you 
ony  mair  *?  " 

This,  you  feel  certain,  must  have  been  the  most 
important  event  of  that  evening,  but  strange  to 
say,  it  was  not.  Before  Tommy  could  answer 
James's  question,  a  woman  in  a  shawl  had  pounced 
upon  him  and  hurried  him  and  Elspeth  out  of  the 
street.  She  had  been  standing  at  a  corner  looking 
wistfully  at  the  window  blinds  behind  which  folk 
from  Thrums  passed  to  and  fro,  hiding  her  face 
from  people  in  the  street,  but  gazing  eagerly  after 
them.  It  was  Tommy's  mother,  whose  first  free 
act  on  coming  to  London  had  been  to  find  out 
that  street,  and  many  a  time  since  then  she  had 
skulked  through  it  or  watched  it  from  dark  places, 
never  daring  to  disclose  herself,  but  sometimes  rec- 
ognizing familiar  faces,  sometimes  hearing  a  few 
words  in  the  old  tongue  that  is  harsh  and  un- 
gracious to  you,  but  was  so  sweet  to  her,  and  bear- 
ing them  away  with  her  beneath  her  shawl  as  if 
they  were  something  warm  to  lay  over  her  cold 
heart. 

For  a  time  she  upbraided  Tommy  passionately 
for  not  keeping  away  from  this  street,  but  soon  her 
hunger  for  news  of  Thrums  overcame  her  prudence, 
and  she  consented  to  let  him  go  back  if  he  prom- 

64 


THE  GIRL  WITH   TWO  MOTHERS 

ised  never  to  tell  that  his  mother  came  from 
Thrums.  "And  if  onybody  wants  to  ken  your 
name,  say  it's  Tommy,  but  dinna  let  on  that  it's 
Tommy  Sandys." 

"Elspeth,"  Tommy  whispered  that  night,  "I'm 
near  sure  there's  something  queer  about  my  mother 
and  me  and  you."  But  he  did  not  trouble  himself 
with  wondering  what  the  something  queer  might 
be,  so  engrossed  was  he  in  the  new  and  exciting 
life  that  had  suddenly  opened  to  him. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  ENCHANTED  STREET 

IN  Thrums  Street,  as  it  ought  to  have  been  called,, 
herded  at  least  one-half  of  the  Thrums  folk  in 
London,  and  they  formed  a  colony,  of  which  the 
grocer  at  the  corner  sometimes  said  wrathfully  that 
not  a  member  would  give  sixpence  for  anything 
except  Bibles  or  whisky.  In  the  streets  one  could 
only  tell  they  were  not  Londoners  by  their  walk,  the 
flagstones  having  no  grip  for  their  feet,  or,  if  they 
had  come  south  late  in  life,  by  their  backs,  which 
they  carried  at  the  angle  on  which  webs  are  most 
easily  supported,,  When  mixing  with  the  world 
they  talked  the  English  tongue,  which  came  out 
of  them  as  broad  as  if  it  had  been  squeezed  through 
a  mangle,  but  when  the  day's  work  was  done,  it 
was  only  a  few  of  the  giddier  striplings  that  re- 
mained Londoners.  For  the  majority  there  was 
no  raking  the  streets  after  diversion,  they  spent 
the  hour  or  two  before  bed-time  in  reproducing 
the  life  of  Thrums.  Few  of  them  knew  much  of 
London  except  the  nearest  way  between  this  street 
and  their  work,  and  their  most  interesting  visitor 

66 


THE  ENCHANTED   STREET 

was  a  Presbyterian  minister,  most  of  whose  con- 
gregation lived  in  much  more  fashionable  parts, 
but  they  were  almost  exclusively  servant  girls,  and 
when  descending  area-steps  to  visit  them  he  had 
been  challenged  often  and  jocularly  by  policemen, 
which  perhaps  was  what  gave  him  a  subdued  and 
furtive  appearance. 

The  rooms  were  furnished  mainly  with  articles 
bought  in  London,  but  these  became  as  like 
Thrums  dressers  and  seats  as  their  owners  could 
make  them,  old  Petey,  for  instance,  cutting  the 
back  off  a  chair  because  he  felt  most  at  home  on 
stools.  Drawers  were  used  as  baking-boards,  pails 
turned  into  salt-buckets,  floors  were  sanded  and 
hearthstones  ca'med,  and  the  popular  supper  con- 
sisted of  porter,  hot  water,  and  soaked  bread,  after 
every  spoonful  of  which  they  groaned  pleasantly, 
and  stretched  their  legs.  Sometimes  they  played 
at  the  dambrod,  but  more  often  they  pulled  down 
the  blinds  on  London  and  talked  of  Thrums  in 
their  mother  tongue.  Nevertheless  few  of  them 
wanted  to  return  to  it,  and  their  favourite  joke  was 
the  case  of  James  Gloag's  father,  who  being  home- 
sick flung  up  his  situation  and  took  train  for 
Thrums,  but  he  was  back  in  London  in  three 
weeks. 

Tommy  soon  had  the  entry  to  these  homes,  and 
his  first  news  of  the  inmates  was  unexpected.  It 
was  that  they  were  always  sleeping.  In  broad 

67 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

daylight  he  had  seen  Thrums  men  asleep  on  beds, 
and  he  was  somewhat  ashamed  of  them  until  he 
heard  the  excuse.  A  number  of  the  men  from 
Thrums  were  bakers,  the  first  emigrant  of  this 
trade  having  drawn  others  after  him,  and  they 
slept  great  part  of  the  day  to  be  able  to  work  all 
night  in  a  cellar,  making  nice  rolls  for  rich  people. 
Baker  Lumsden,  who  became  a  friend  of  Tommy, 
had  got  his  place  in  the  cellar  when  his  brother 
died,  and  the  brother  had  succeeded  Matthew 
Croall  when  he  died. 

They  die  very  soon,  Tommy  learned  from  Lums- 
den, generally  when  they  are  eight  and  thirty. 
Lumsden  was  thirty-six,  and  when  he  died  his  ne- 
phew was  to  get  the  place.  The  wages  are  good. 

Then  there  were  several  masons,  one  of  whom, 
like  the  first  baker,  had  found  work  for  all  the 
others,  and  there  were  men  who  had  drifted  into 
trades  strange  to  their  birthplace,  and  there  was 
usually  one  at  least  who  had  come  to  London  to 
"  better  himself"  and  had  not  done  it  as  yet.  The 
family  Tommy  liked  best  was  the  Whamonds, 
and  especially  he  liked  old  Petey  and  young  Petey 
Whamond.  They  were  a  large  family  of  women 
and  men,  all  of  whom  earned  their  living  in  other 
streets,  except  the  old  man,  who  kept  house  and 
was  a  famous  knitter  of  stockings,  as  probably  his 
father  had  been  before  him.  He  was  a  great  one, 
too,  at  telling  what  they  would  be  doing  at  that 


THE   ENCHANTED   STREET 

moment  in  Thrums,  every  corner  of  which  was  as 
familiar  to  him  as  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  family 
hose.  Young  Petey  got  fourteen  shillings  a  week 
from  a  hatter,  and  one  of  his  duties  was  to  carry  as 
many  as  twenty  band-boxes  at  a  time  through 
fashionable  streets;  it  is  a  matter  for  elation  that 
dukes  and  statesmen  had  often  to  take  the  curb- 
stone, because  young  Petey  was  coming.  Never- 
theless young  Petey  was  not  satisfied,  and  never 
would  be  (such  is  the  Thrums  nature)  until  he  be- 
came a  salesman  in  the  shop  to  which  he  acted  at 
present  as  fetch  and  carry,  and  he  used  to  tell 
Tommy  that  this  position  would  be  his  as  soon  as 
he  could  sneer  sufficiently  at  the  old  hats.  When 
gentlemen  come  into  the  shop  and  buy  a  new  hat, 
he  explained,  they  put  it  on,  meaning  to  tell  you 
to  send  the  old  one  to  their  address,  and  the  art  of 
being  a  fashionable  hatter  lies  in  this:  you  must 
be  able  to  curl  your  lips  so  contemptuously  at  the 
old  hat  that  they  tell  you  guiltily  to  keep  it,  as 
they  have  no  further  use  for  it.  Then  they  retire 
ishamed  of  their  want  of  moral  courage  and  you 
have  made  an  extra  half-guinea. 

"  But  I  aye  snort,"  young  Petey  admitted,  "  and 
it  should  be  done  without  a  sound."  When  he 
graduated,  he  was  to  marry  Martha  Spens,  who 
was  waiting  for  him  at  Tillyloss.  There  was  a 
London  seamstress  whom  he  preferred,  and  she 
was  willing,  but  it  is  safest  to  stick  to  Thrums. 

69 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

When  Tommy  was  among  his  new  friends  a 
Scotch  word  or  phrase  often  escaped  his  lips,  but 
old  Petey  and  the  others  thought  he  had  picked  it 
up  from  them,  and  would  have  been  content  to  ac- 
cept him  as  a  London  waif  who  lived  somewhere 
round  the  corner.  To  trick  people  so  simply, 
however,  is  not  agreeable  to  an  artist,  and  he  told 
them  his  name  was  Tommy  Shovel,  and  that  his 
old  girl  walloped  him,  and  his  father  found  dogs, 
all  which  inventions  Thrums  Street  accepted  as 
true.  What  is  much  more  noteworthy  is  that,  as 
he  gave  them  birth,  Tommy  half  believed  them 
also,  being  already  the  best  kind  of  actor. 

Not  all  the  talking  was  done  by  Tommy  when 
he  came  home  with  news,  for  he  seldom  mentioned 
a  Thrums  name,  of  which  his  mother  could  not 
tell  him  something  more.  But  sometimes  she  did 
not  choose  to  tell,  as  when  he  announced  that  a 
certain  Elspeth  Lindsay,  of  the  Marywellbrae,  was 
dead.  After  this  she  ceased  to  listen,  for  old  El- 
speth had  been  her  grandmother,  and  she  had  now 
no  kin  in  Thrums. 

"Tell  me  about  the  Painted  Lady,"  Tommy 
said  to  her.  "  Is  it  true  she's  a  witch  ?  "  But  Mrs. 
Sandys  had  never  heard  of  any  woman  so  called ; 
the  Painted  Lady  must  have  gone  to  Thrums  after 
her  time. 

"There  ain't  no  witches  now,"  said  Elspeth 
tremulously;  Shovel's  mother  had  told  her  so. 

70 


THE   ENCHANTED   STREET 

"  Not  in  London,"  replied  Tommy  with  con* 
tempt ;  and  this  is  all  that  was  said  of  the  Painted 
Lady  then.  It  is  the  first  mention  of  her  in  these 
pages. 

The  people  Mrs.  Sandys  wanted  to  hear  of 
chiefly  were  Aaron  Latta  and  Jean  Myles,  and  soon 
Tommy  brought  news  of  them,  but  at  the  same 
time  he  had  heard  of  the  Den,  and  he  said  first : 

"  Oh,  mother,  I  thought  as  you  had  told  me 
about  all  the  beauty  places  in  Thrums,  and  you 
ain't  never  told  me  about  the  Den." 

His  mother  heaved  a  quick  breath.  "  It's  the 
only  place  I  hinna  telled  you  o',"  she  said. 

"  Had  you  forgot  it,  mother  ?  " 

Forgot  the  Den  ?  Ah,  no,  Tommy,  your  mother 
had  not  forgotten  the  Den. 

"  And,  listen,  Elspeth,  in  the  Den  there's  a  bonny 
spring  of  water  called  the  Cuttle  Well.  Had  you 
forgot  the  Cuttle  Well,  mother  ?  " 

No,  no ;  when  Jean  Myles  forgot  the  names  of 
her  children  she  would  still  remember  the  Cuttle 
Well.  Regardless  now  of  the  whispering  between 
Tommy  and  Elspeth,  she  sat  long  over  the  fire, 
and  it  is  not  difficult  to  fathom  her  thoughts.  They 
were  of  the  Den  and  the  Cuttle  Well 

Into  the  life  of  every  man,  and  no  woman,  there 
comes  a  moment  when  he  learns  suddenly  that  he 
is  held  eligible  for  marriage.  A  girl  gives  him  the 
jag,  and  it  brings  out  the  perspiration  Of  the, 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

issue  elsewhere  of  this  stab  with  a  bodkin  let  others 
speak ;  in  Thrums  its  commonest  effect  is  to  make 
the  callant's  body  take  a  right  angle  to  his  legs, 
for  he  has  been  touched  in  the  fifth  button,  and  he 
backs  away  broken-winded.  By  and  by,  however, 
he  is  at  his  work  —  among  the  turnip-shoots,  say 
—  guffawing  and  clapping  his  corduroys,  with 
pauses  for  uneasy  meditation,  and  there  he  ripens 
with  the  swedes,  so  that  by  the  back-end  of  the 
year  he  has  discovered,  and  exults  to  know,  that 
the  reward  of  manhood  is  neither  more  nor  less 
than  this  sensation  at  the  ribs.  Soon  thereafter,  or 
at  worst,  sooner  or  later  (for  by  holding  out  he  only 
puts  the  women's  dander  up),  he  is  led  captive  to 
the  Cuttle  Well.  This  well  has  the  reputation  of 
being  the  place  where  it  is  most  easily  said. 

The  wooded  ravine  called  the  Den  is  in  Thrums 
rather  than  on  its  western  edge,  but  is  so  craftily 
hidden  away  that  when  within  a  stone's  throw  you 
may  give  up  the  search  for  it;  it  is  also  so  deep 
that  larks  rise  from  the  bottom  and  carol  overhead, 
thinking  themselves  high  in  the  heavens  before 
they  are  on  a  level  with  Nether  Drumley's  farm- 
land. In  shape  it  is  almost  a  semicircle,  but  its 
size  depends  on  you  and  the  maid.  If  she  be 
with  you,  the  Den  is  so  large  that  you  must  rest 
heie  and  there;  if  you  are  after  her  boldly,  you 
can  dash  to  the  Cuttle  Well,  which  was  the  tryst- 
ing-place,  in  the  time  a  stout  man  takes  to  lace 


THE  ENCHANTED  STREET 

his  boots ;  if  you  are  of  those  self-conscious  ones 
who  look  behind  to  see  whether  jeering  blades  are 
following,  you  may  crouch  and  wriggle  your  way 
onward  and  not  be  with  her  in  half  an  hour. 

Old  Petey  had  told  Tommy  that,  on  the  whole, 
the  greatest  pleasure  in  life  on  a  Saturday  evening 
is  to  put  your  back  against  a  stile  that  leads  into 
the  Den  and  rally  the  sweethearts  as  they  go  by. 
The  lads,  when  they  see  you,  want  to  go  round 
by  the  other  stile,  but  the  lasses  like  it,  and  often 
the  sport  ends  spiritedly  with  their  giving  you  a 
clout  on  the  head. 

Through  the  Den  runs  a  tiny  burn,  and  by  its 
side  is  a  pink  path,  dyed  this  pretty  colour,  per- 
haps, by  the  blushes  the  ladies  leave  behind  them. 
The  burn  as  it  passes  the  Cuttle  Well,  which 
stands  higher  and  just  out  of  sight,  leaps  in  vain 
to  see  who  is  making  that  cooing  noise,  and  the 
well,  taking  the  spray  for  kisses,  laughs  all  day  at 
Romeo,  who  cannot  get  up.  Well  is  a  name  it 
must  have  given  itself,  for  it  is  only  a  spring  in 
the  bottom  of  a  basinful  of  water,  where  it  makes 
about  as  much  stir  in  the  world  as  a  minnow 
jumping  at  a  fly0  They  say  that  if  a  boy,  by 
making  a  bowl  of  his  hands,  should  suddenly 
carry  off  all  the  water,  a  quick  girl  could  thread 
her  needle  at  the  spring.  But  it  is  a  spring  that 
will  not  wait  a  moment. 

Men  who  have  been  lads  in  Thrums  sometimes 

73 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

go  back  to  it  from  London  or  from  across  the 
seas,  to  look  again  at  some  battered  little  house 
and  feel  the  blasts  of  their  bairnhood  playing 
through  the  old  wynds,  and  they  may  take  with 
them  a  foreign  wife.  They  show  her  everything, 
except  the  Cutt  Well;  they  often  go  there 
alone.  The  well  is  sacred  to  the  memory  of  first 
love.  You  may  walk  from  the  well  to  the  round 
cemetery  in  ten  minutes.  It  is  a  common  walk 
for  those  who  go  back. 

First  love  is  but  a  boy  and  girl  playing  at  the 
Cuttle  Well  with  a  bird's  egg.  They  blow  it  on 
one  summer  evening  in  the  long  grass,  and  on  the 
next  it  is  borne  away  on  a  coarse  laugh,  or  it 
breaks  beneath  the  burden  of  a  tear.  And  yet  — 
I  once  saw  an  aged  woman,  a  widow  of  many 
years,  cry  softly  at  mention  of  the  Cuttle  Well 
"  John  was  a  good  man  to  you,"  I  said,  for  John 
had  been  her  husband.  "  He  was  a  leal  man  to 
me,"  she  answered  with  wistful  eyes,  "  ay,  he  was 
a  leal  man  to  me  —  but  it  wasna  John  I  was 
thinking  o'.  You  dinna  ken  what  makes  me 
greet  so  sair/s  she  added,  presently,  and  though  I 
thought  I  knew  now  I  was  wrong,  "  It's  because 
I  canna  mind  his  name,"  she  said. 

So  the  Cuttle  Well  has  its  sad  memories  and  its 
bright  ones,  and  many  of  the  bright  memories  have 
become  sad  with  age,  as  so  often  happens  to  beau« 
tiful  things,  but  the  most  mournful  of  all  is  the 

74 


THE  ENCHANTED  STREET 

story  of  Aaron  Latta  and  Jean  Myles.  Beside  the 
well  there  stood  for  long  a  great  pink  stone,  called 
the  Shoaging  Stone,  because  it  could  be  rocked 
like  a  cradle,  and  on  it  lovers  used  to  cut  their 
names.  Often  Aaron  Latta  and  Jean  Myles  sat 
together  on  the  Shoaging  Stone,  and  then  there 
-;ame  a  time  when  it  bore  these  words,  cut  by 
Aaron  Latta *. 


HERE  LIES  THE  MANHOOD  OF  AARQW  LATTA, 
A  FOND  SON,  A  FAITHFUL  FRIEND  AND  A  TRUE  LOVER, 

WHO  VIOLATED  THE  FEELINGS  OF  SEX  ON  THIS 
SPOT,  AND  is  NOW  THE  SCUNNER  OF  GOD  AND  MAW. 

Tommy's  mother  now  heard  these  words  for  the 
first  time,  Aaron  having  cut  them  on  the  stone 
after  she  left  Thrums,  and  her  head  sank  at  each 
line,  as  if  someone  had  struck  four  blows  at  her. 

The  stone  was  no  longer  at  the  Cuttle  Well. 
As  the  easiest  way  of  obliterating  the  words,  the 
minister  had  ordered  it  to  be  broken,  and  of  the 
pieces  another  mason  had  made  stands  for  watches, 
one  of  which  was  now  in  Thrums  Street. 

'•  Aaron  Latta  ain't  a  mason  now,"  Tommy  rat- 
tled on :  "  he  is  a  warper,  because  he  can  warp  in 
his  own  house  without  looking  on  mankind  or 
speaking  to  mankind.  Auld  Petey  said  he  minded 
the  day  when  Aaron  Latta  was  a  merry  loon,  and 
then  Andrew  McVittie  said,  'God  behears,  to 

75 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

think  that  Aaron  Latta  was  ever  a  merry  man ! ' 
and  Baker  Lumsden  said,  '  Curse  her !  * " 

His  mother  shrank  in  her  chair,  but  said  noth- 
ing, and  Tommy  explained :  "  It  was  Jean  Myles 
he  was  cursing;  did  you  ken  her,  mother?  she 
ruined  Aaron  Latta's  life." 

*'  Ay,  and  wha  ruined  Jean  Myles's  life  ?  "  his 
mother  cried  passionately. 

Tommy  did  not  know,  but  he  thought  that 
young  Petey  might  know,  for  young  Petey  had 
said :  "  If  I  had  been  Jean  Myles  I  would  have 
spat  in  Aaron's  face  rather  than  marry  him." 

Mrs.  Sandys  seemed  pleased  to  hear  this. 

"  They  wouldna  tell  me  what  it  were  she  did," 
Tommy  went  on ;  "  they  said  it  was  ower  ugly  a 
story,  but  she  were  a  bad  one,  for  they  stoned  her 
out  of  Thrums.  I  dinna  know  where  she  is  now, 
but  she  were  stoned  out  of  Thrums ! " 

"Noalane?" 

"  There  was  a  man  with  her,  and  his  name  was 
—  it  was " 

His  mother  clasped  her  hands  nervously  while 
Tommy  tried  to  remember  the  name.  "  His  name 
was  Magerful  Tarn,"  he  said  at  length. 

"  Ay,"  said  his  mother,  knitting  her  teeth,  "  that 
was  his  name." 

"  I  dinna  mind  any  more/'  Tommy  concluded. 
•'  Yes,  I  mind  they  aye  called  Aaron  Latta  *  Poor 
\2iron  Latta.' " 

76 


THE  ENCHANTED  STREET 

"Did  they?  I  warrant,  though,  there  wasna 
one  as  said  'Poor  Jean  Myles"?" 

She  began  the  question  in  a  hard  voice,  but  as 
she  said  "  Poor  Jean  Myles,"  something  caught  in 
her  throat,  and  she  sobbed,  painful  dry  sobs. 

"  How  could  they  pity  her  when  she  were  such 
a  bad  one  ?  "  Tommy  answered  briskly. 

"  Is  there  none  to  pity  bad  ones  ? "  said  his 
sorrowful  mother. 

Elspeth  plucked  her  by  the  skirt.  "There's 
God,  ain't  there  ?  "  she  said,  inquiringly,  and  get- 
ting no  answer  she  flopped  upon  her  knees,  to  say 
a  babyish  prayer  that  would  sound  comic  to  any- 
body except  to  Him  to  whom  it  was  addressed. 

"  You  ain't  praying  for  a  woman  as  was  a  dis- 
grace to  Thrums !  "  Tommy  cried,  jealously,  and 
he  was  about  to  raise  her  by  force,  when  his  mother 
stayed  his  hand. 

"  Let  her  alane,"  she  said,  with  a  twitching  mouth 
and  filmy  eyes.  "  Let  her  alane.  Let  my  "bairn 
pray  for  Jean  Myles." 


77 


CHAPTER  Vli 

COMIC  OVERTURE  TO  A  TRAGEDY 

"  JEAN  MYLES  bides  In  London  "  was  the  next  re- 
markable news  brought  by  Tommy  from  Thrums 
Street.  "  And  that  ain't  all,  Magerful  Tarn  is  her 
man;  and  that  ain't  alls  she  has  a  laddie  called 
Tommy;  and  that  ain't  all,  Petey  and  the  rest  has 
never  seen  her  in  London,  but  she  writes  letters  to 
Thrums  folks  and  they  writes  to  Petey  and  tells 
him  what  she  said.  That  ain't  all  neither,  they 
canna  find  out  what  street  she  bides  in,  but  it's  on 
the  bonny  side  of  London,  and  it's  grand,  and  she 
wears  silk  clothes,  and  her  Tommy  has  velvet 
trousers,  and  they  have  a  servant  as  calls  him  *  sir/ 
Oh,  I  would  just  like  to  kick  him!  They  often 
looks  for  her  in  the  grand  streets,  but  they're  angry 
at  her  getting  on  so  well,  and  Martha  Scrymgeout 
said  it  were  enough  to  make  good  women  like  hei 
stop  going  reg'lar  to  the  kirk." 

"  Martha  said  that ! "  exclaimed  his  mother, 
highly  pleased.  "  Heard  you  anything  of  a  woman 
called  Esther  Auld  ?  Her  man  does  the  orra 
work  at  the  Tappit  Hen  public  in  Thrums." 

*4  He's  head  man  at  the  Tappit   Hen  public 

7? 


COMIC  OVERTURE  TO  A  TRAGEDY 

now,"  answered  Tommy;  "and  she  wishes  she 
could  find  out  where  Jean  Myles  bides,  so  as  she 
could  write  and  tell  her  that  she  is  grand  too,  and 
has  six  hair-bottomed  chairs." 

"  She'll  never  get  the  satisfaction,"  said  his 
mother  triumphantly.  "  Tell  me  more  about 
her." 

"She  has  a  laddie  called  Francie,  and  he  has 
yellow  curls,  and  she  nearly  greets  because  she 
canna  tell  Jean  Myles  that  he  goes  to  a  school  for 
the  children  of  gentlemen  only.  She  is  so  mad 
when  she  gets  a  letter  from  Jean  Myles  that  she 
takes  to  her  bed." 

"  Yea,  yea !  "  said  Mrs.  Sandys  cheerily. 

"  But  they  think  Jean  Myles  has  been  brought 
low  at  last,"  continued  Tommy,  "because  she 
hasna  wrote  for  a  long  time  to  Thrums,  and  Esther 
Auld  said  that  if  she  knowed  for  certain  as  Jean 
Myles  had  been  brought  low,  she  would  put  a 
threepenny  bit  in  the  kirk  plate." 

"  Pm  glad  you've  telled  me  that,  laddie,"  said 
Mrs.  Sandys,  and  next  day,  unknown  to  her  chil- 
dren, she  wrote  another  letter.  She  knew  she  ran 
a  risk  of  discovery,  yet  it  was  probable  that  Tommy 
would  only  hear  her  referred  to  in  Thrums  Street 
by  her  maiden  name,  which  he  had  never  heard 
from  her,  and  as  for  her  husband  he  had  been 
Magerful  Tarn  to  everyone.  The  risk  was  great, 
but  the  pleasure 

79 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Unsuspicious  Tommy  soon  had  news  of  an» 
other  letter  from  Jean  Myles,  which  had  sent 
Esther  Auld  to  bed  again. 

"  Instead  of  being  brought  low,"  he  announced, 
"  Jean  Myles  is  grander  than  ever.  Her  Tommy 
has  a  governess." 

"  That  would  be  a  doush  of  water  in  Esther's 
face,'-  his  mother  said,  smiling. 

"She  wrote  to  Martha  Scrymgeour,"  said 
Tommy,  "  that  it  ain't  no  pleasure  to  her  now  to 
boast  as  her  laddie  is  at  a  school  for  gentlemen's 
children  only.  But  what  made  her  maddest  was 
a  bit  in  Jean  Myles's  letter  about  chairs.  Jean 
Myles  has  give  all  her  hair-bottomed  chairs  to  a 
poor  woman  and  buyed  a  new  kind,  because  hair- 
bottomed  ones  ain't  fashionable  now.  So  Esther 
Auld  can't  not  bear  the  sight  of  her  chairs  now, 
though  she  were  windy  of  them  till  the  letter  went 
to  Thrums." 

" Poor  Esther!"  said  Mrs.  Sandys  gaily. 

"  Oh,  and  I  forgot  this,  mother.  Jean  Myles's 
reason  for  not  telling  where  she  bides  in  London  is 
that  she's  so  grand  that  she  thinks  if  auld  Petey  and 
the  rest  knowed  where  the  place  was  they  would  visit 
her  and  boast  as  they  was  her  friends.  Auld  Petey 
stamped  wi*  rage  when  he  heard  that,  and  Martha 
Scrymgeour  said,  'Oh,  the  pridefu'  limmer!'" 

"Ay,  Martha,"  muttered  Mrs.  Sandys,  "you 
and  Jean  Myles  is  evens  now." 

80 


COMIC  OVERTURE  TO  A  TRAGEDY 

But  the  passage  that  had  made  them  all  wince 
the  most  was  one  giving  Jean's  reasons  for  mak- 
ing no  calls  in  Thrums  Street.  "  You  can  break 
it  to  Martha  Scrymgeour's  father  and  mither,"  the 
letter  said,  "  and  to  Petey  Whamond's  sisters  and 
the  rest  as  has  friends  in  London,  that  I  have  seen 
no  Thrums  faces  here,  the  low  part  where  they 
bide  not  being  for  the  like  of  me  to  file  my  feet 
in.  Forby  that,  I  could  not  let  my  son  mix  with 
their  bairns  for  fear  they  should  teach  him  the 
vulgar  Thrums  words  and  clarty  his  blue-velvet 
suit.  I'm  thinking  you  have  to  dress  your  laddie 
in  corduroy,  Esther,  but  you  see  that  would  not 
do  for  mine.  So  no  more  at  present,  and  we  all 
join  in  compliments,  and  my  little  velvets  says  he 
wishes  I  would  send  some  of  his  toys  to  your  little 
corduroys.  And  so  maybe  I  will,  Esther,  if  you'll 
tell  Aaron  Latta  how  rich  and  happy  I  am,  and 
if  you're  feared  to  say  it  to  his  face,  tell  it  to  the 
roaring  farmer  of  Double  Dykes,  and  he'll  pass 
it  on." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a  woman?"  Tommy 
said  indignantly,  when  he  had  repeated  as  much 
of  this  insult  to  Thrums  as  he  could  remember. 

But  it  was  information  his  mother  wanted. 

"  What  said  they  to  that  bit  ?  "  she  asked. 

At  first,  it  appears,  they  limited  their  comments 
to  "Losh,  losh,"  "keeps  a',"  "it  cows,"  "my  certie," 
"ay,  ay,"  "sal,tal,"  "dagont"  (the  meaning  of  which 

81 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

is  obvious).  But  by  and  by  they  recovered  their 
breath,  and  then  Baker  Lumsden  said  wonderingly : 

"Wha  that  was  at  her  marriage  could  have 
thought  it  would  turn  out  so  weel?  It  was  an 
eerie  marriage  that,  Petey ! " 

"Ay,  man,  you  may  say  so,"  old  Petey  an- 
swered. "  I  was  there ;  I  was  one  o'  them  as  went 
in  ahint  Aaron  Latta,  and  I'm  no'  likely  to  forget 
it." 

"  I  wasna  there,"  said  the  baker,  "  but  I  was 
Standing  at  the  door,  and  I  saw  the  hearse  drive  up." 

"What  did  they  mean,  mother?"  Tommy 
asked,  but  she  shuddered  and  replied,  evasively, 
"  Did  Martha  Scrymgeour  say  anything  ?  " 

"  She  said  such  a  lot,"  he  had  to  confess,  "  that  I 
dinna  mind  none  on  it.  But  I  mind  what  her 
father  in  Thrums  wrote  to  her;  he  wrote  to  her 
that  if  she  saw  a  carriage  go  by,  she  was  to  keep 
her  eyes  on  the  ground,  for  likely  as  not  Jean 
Myles  would  be  in  it,  and  she  thought  as  they 
was  all  dirt  beneath  her  feet.  But  Kirsty  Ross  — 
who  is  she  ?  " 

"  She's  Martha's  mother.     What  about  her  ?  " 

"  She  wrote  at  the  end  of  the  letter  that  Martha 
was  to  hang  on  ahint  the  carriage  and  find  out 
where  Jean  Myles  bides.' 

"Laddie,  that  was  like  Kirsty!  Heard  you 
what  the  roaring  farmer  o'  Double  Dykes  said  ?  " 

No,  Tommy  had  not  heard  him  mentioned 
8? 


COMIC  OVERTURE  TO  A  TRAGEDY 

And  indeed  the  roaring  farmer  of  Double  Dykes 
had  said  nothing.  He  was  already  lying  very 
quiet  on  the  south  side  of  the  cemetery. 

Tommy's  mother's  next  question  cost  her  a 
painful  effort.  "Did  you  hear,"  she  asked, 
"whether  they  telled  Aaron  Latta  about  the  let- 
ter?" 

"  Yes,  they  telled  him,"  Tommy  replied,  "  and 
he  said  a  queer  thing;  he  said,  'Jean  Myles  is 
dead,  I  was  at  her  coffining.'  That's  what  he  aye 
says  when  they  tell  him  there's  another  letter.  I 
wonder  what  he  means,  mother  ?  " 

"  I  wonder ! "  she  echoed,  faintly.  The  only 
pleasure  left  her  was  to  raise  the  envy  of  those  who 
had  hooted  her  from  Thrums,  but  she  paid  a  price 
for  it.  Many  a  stab  she  had  got  from  the  unwit- 
ting Tommy  as  he  repeated  the  gossip  of  his  new 
friends,  and  she  only  won  their  envy  at  the  cost  of 
their  increased  ill-will.  They  thought  she  was 
lording  it  in  London,  and  so  they  were  merciless; 
had  they  known  how  poor  she  was  and  how  ill, 
they  would  have  forgotten  everything  save  that 
she  was  a  Thrummy  like  themselves,  and  there 
were  few  but  would  have  shared  their  all  with  her. 
But  she  did  not  believe  this,  and  therefore  you 
may  pity  her,  for  the  hour  was  drawing  near,  and 
she  knew  it,  when  she  must  appeal  to  some  one 
for  her  children's  sake,  not  for  her  own. 

No,  not  for  her  own.    When  Tommy  was  wan- 

83 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

dering  the  pretty   parts  of  London  with  James 
Gloag  and  other  boys   from   Thrums   Street   in 
search  of  Jean  Myles,  whom  they  were  to  know 
by  her  carriage  and  her  silk  dress  and  her  son  in 
I  blue  velvet,  his   mother  was  in  bed  with  bron 
( chitis  in  the  wretched  room  we  know  of,  or  creep 
ing  to  the  dancing  school,  coughing  all  the  way. 

Some  of  the  fits  of  coughing  were  very  near 
being  her  last,  but  she  wrestled  with  her  trouble, 
seeming  at  times  to  stifle  it,  and  then  for  weeks 
she  managed  to  go  to  her  work,  which  was  still 
hers,  because  Shovel's  old  girl  did  it  for  her  when 
the  bronchitis  would  not  be  defied.  Shovel's  old 
slattern  gave  this  service  unasked  and  without 
payment ;  if  she  was  thanked  it  was  ungraciously, 
but  she  continued  to  do  all  she  could  when  there 
was  need ;  she  smelled  of  gin,  but  she  continued 
to  do  all  she  could. 

The  wardrobe  had  been  put  upon  its  back  on 
the  floor,  and  so  converted  into  a  bed  for  Tommy 
and  Elspeth,  who  were  sometimes  wakened  in  the 
night  by  a  loud  noise,  which  alarmed  them  until 
they  learned  that  it  was  only  the  man  in  the  next 
room  knocking  angrily  on  the  wall  because  their 
mother's  cough  kept  him  from  sleeping. 

Tommy  knew  what  death  was  now,  and  El- 
speth knew  its  name,  and  both  were  vaguely  aware 
that  it  was  looking  for  their  mother;  but  if  she 
could  only  hold  out  till  Hogmanay,  Tommy  said, 


COMIC  OVERTURE  TO  A  TRAGEDY 

they  would  fleg  it  out  of  the  house.  Hogmanay  is 
the  mighty  winter  festival  of  Thrums,  and  when 
it  came  round  these  two  were  to  give  their  mother 
a  present  that  would  make  her  strong.  It  was  not 
to  be  a  porous  plaster.  Tommy  knew  now  of 
,  something  better  than  that. 

"And  I  knows  too!"  Elspeth  gurgled,  "and  I 
has  threepence  a'ready,  I  has." 

"  Whisht ! "  said  Tommy  in  an  agony  of  dread, 
"  she  hears  you,  and  she'll  guess.  We  ain't  speak- 
ing of  nothing  to  give  to  you  at  Hogmanay,"  he 
said  to  his  mother  with  great  cunning.  Then  he 
winked  at  Elspeth  and  said,  with  his  hand  over 
his  mouth,  "I  hinna  twopence!"  and  Elspeth, 
about  to  cry  in  fright,  "Have  you  spended  it?" 
saw  the  joke  and  crowed  instead,  "  Nor  yet  has  I 
threepence ! " 

They  smirked  together,  until  Tommy  saw  a 
change  come  over  Elspeth's  face,  which  made  him 
run  her  outside  the  door. 

"  You  was  a-going  to  pray ! "  he  said,  severely. 

•'  'Cos  it  was  a  lie,  Tommy.  I  does  have  three- 
pence." 

"  Well,  you  ain't  a-going  to  get  praying  about 
it  She  would  hear  yer." 

"  I  would  do  it  low.  Tommy." 

"  She  would  see  yer." 

"  Oh,  Tommy,  let  me.     God  is  angry  with  me." 

Tommy  looked  down  the  stair,  and  no  one  was 

85 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

in  sight.  "  Pll  let  yer  pray  here,"  he  whispered, 
"and  you  can  say  I  have  twopence.  But  be  quick, 
and  do  it  standing." 

Perhaps  Mrs.  Sandys  had  been  thinking  that 
when  Hogmanay  came  her  children  might  have 
no  mother  to  bring  presents  to,  for  on  their  return 
to  the  room  her  eyes  followed  them  wofully,  and 
a  shudder  of  apprehension  shook  her  torn  frame. 
Tommy  gave  Elspeth  a  look  that  meant  "  I'm 
sure  there's  something  queer  about  her." 

There  was  also  something  queer  about  himself, 
which  at  this  time  had  the  strangest  gallop.  It 
began  one  day  with  a  series  of  morning  calls  from 
Shovel,  who  suddenly  popped  his  head  over  the 
top  of  the  door  (he  was  standing  on  the  handle), 
roared  "Roastbeef!"  in  the  manner  of  a  railway 
porter  announcing  the  name  of  a  station,  and  then 
at  once  withdrew. 

He  returned  presently  to  say  that  vain  must  be 
all  attempts  to  wheedle  his  secret  from  him,  and 
yet  again  to  ask  irritably  why  Tommy  was  not 
coming  out  to  hear  all  about  it.  Then  did  Tommy 
desert  Elspeth,  and  on  the  stair  Shovel  showed 
him  a  yellow  card  with  this  printed  on  it:  "S.  R. 
J.  C. —  Supper  Ticket ; "  and  written  beneath,  in 
a  lady's  hand :  "  Admit  Joseph  Salt."  The  letters, 
Shovel  explained,  meant  Society  for  the  somethink 
of  Juvenile  Criminals,  and  the  toffs  what  ran  it  got 
hold  of  you  when  you  came  out  of  quod.  .Then 

86 


COMIC  OVERTURE  TO  A  TRAGEDY 

if  you  was  willing  to  repent  they  wrote  down  your 
name  and  the  place  what  you  lived  at  in  a  book, 
and  one  of  them  came  to  see  yer  and  give  yer  a 
ticket  for  the  blow-out  night.  This  was  blow-out 
night,  and  that  were  Shovel's  ticket.  He  had 
bought  it  from  Hump  Salt  for  fourpence.  What 
you  get  at  the  blow-out  was  roast  beef,  plum-duff, 
and  an  orange ;  but  when  Hump  saw  the  four- 
pence  he  could  not  wait. 

A  favor  was  asked  of  Tommy.  Shovel  had  been 
told  by  Hump  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the  toffs 
to  sit  beside  you  and  question  you  about  your 
crimes,  and  lacking  the  imagination  that  made 
Tommy  such  an  ornament  to  the  house,  the  chances 
were  that  he  would  flounder  in  his  answers  and  be 
ejected.  Hump  had  pointed  this  out  to  him  after 
pocketing  the  fourpence.  Would  Tommy,  there- 
fore, make  up  things  for  him  to  say ;  reward,  the 
orange. 

This  was  a  proud  moment  for  Tommy,  as  Shov- 
el's knowledge  of  crime  was  much  more  extensive 
than  his  own,  though  they  had  both  studied  it  in 
the  pictures  of  a  lively  newspaper  subscribed  to  by 
Shovel,  senior.  He  became  patronizing  at  once 
and  rejected  the  orange  as  insufficient. 

Then  suppose,  after  he  got-  into  the  hall,  Shovel 
dropped  his  ticket  out  at  the  window;  Tommy 
could  pick  it  up,  and  then  it  would  admit  him 
also. 

8? 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Tommy  liked  this,  but  foresaw  a  danger :  the 
ticket  might  be  taken  from  Shovel  at  the  door> 
just  as  they  took  them  from  you  at  that  singing 
thing  in  the  church  he  had  attended  with  young 
Petey. 

So  help  Shovel's  davy,  there  was  no  fear  of  this. 
They  were  superior  toffs,  what  trusted  to  your 
honour. 

Would  Shovel  swear  to  this  ? 

He  would. 

But  would  he  swear  dagont  ? 

He  swore  dagont ;  and  then  Tommy  had  him. 
As  he  was  so  sure  of  it,  he  could  not  object  to 
Tommy's  being  the  one  who  dropped  the  ticket 
out  at  the  window  ? 

Shovel  did  object  for  a  time,  but  after  a  wrangle 
he  gave  up  the  ticket,  intending  to  take  it  from 
Tommy  when  primed  with  the  necessary  tale.  So 
they  parted  until  evening,  and  Tommy  returned 
to  Elspeth,  secretive  but  elated.  For  the  rest  of 
the  day  he  was  in  thought,  now  waggling  his  head 
smugly  over  some  dark,  unutterable  design  and 
again  looking  a  little  scared.  In  growing  alarm 
she  watched  his  face,  and  at  last  she  slipped  upon 
her  knees,  but  he  had  her  up  at  once  and  said,  re- 
proachfully: 

"  It  were  me  as  teached  yer  to  pray,  and  now 
yer  prays  for  me  !  That's  fine  treatment ! " 

Nevertheless,  after  his  mother's  return,  just  be- 


COMIC  OVERTURE  TO  A  TRAGEDY 

fore  he  stole  out  to  join  Shovel,  he  took  Elspeth 
aside  and  whispered  to  her,  nervously: 

"  You  can  pray  for  me  if  you  like,  for,  oh,  El- 
speth, I'm  thinking  as  I'll  need  it  sore ! "  And 
sore  he  needed  it  before  the  night  was  out. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   BOY   WITH   TWO  MOTHERS 

**  I  LOVE  my  dear  father  and  my  dear  mother  and 
all  the  dear  little  kids  at  'ome.  You  are  a  kind 
laidy  or  gentleman.  I  love  yer.  I  will  never  do 
it  again,  so  help  me  bob.  Amen." 

This  was  what  Shovel  muttered  to  himself  again 
and  again  as  the  two  boys  made  their  way  across 
the  lamplit  Hungerford  Bridge,  and  Tommy  asked 
him  what  it  meant. 

"  My  old  gal  learned  me  that ;  she's  deep," 
Shovel  said,  wiping  the  words  off  his  mouth  with 
his  sleeve. 

"  But  you  got  no  kids  at  'ome ! "  remonstrated 
Tommy.  (Ameliar  was  now  in  service.) 

Shovel  turned  on  him  with  the  fury  of  a  mother 
protecting  her  young.  "  Don't  you  try  for  to  knock 
none  on  it  out,"  he  cried,  and  again  fell  a-mumblmg. 

Said  Tommy,  scornfully  °  "  If  you  says  it  all  out 
at  one  bang  you'll  be  done  at  the  start." 

Shovel  sighed. 

"And  you  should  blubber  when  yer  says  it," 
added  Tommy,  who  could  laugh  or  cry  merely 


THE  BOY   WITH   TWO   MOTHERS 

because  other  people  were  laughing  or  crying,  or 
even  with  less  reason,  and  so  naturally  that  he 
found  it  more  difficult  to  stop  than  to  begin, 
Shovel  was  the  taller  by  half  a  head,  and  irresis- 
tible with  his  fists,  but  to-night  Tommy  was  master. 

"  You  jest  stick  to  me,  Shovel,"  he  said  airily. 
"  Keep  a  grip  on  my  hand,  same  as  if  yer  was  El- 
speth." 

"  But  what  was  we  copped  for,  Tommy  ?  "  en- 
treated humble  Shovel. 

Tommy  asked  him  if  he  knew  what  a  butler 
was,  and  Shovel  remembered,  confusedly,  that 
there  had  been  a  portrait  of  a  butler  in  his  father's 
news-sheet. 

"Well,  then,"  said  Tommy,  inspired  by  this 
same  source,  "  there's  a  room  a  butler  has,  and  it 
is  a  pantry,  so  you  and  me  crawled  through  the 
winder  and  we  opened  the  door  to  the  gang.  You 
and  me  was  copped.  They  catched  you  below  the 
table  and  me  stabbing  the  butler." 

"  It  was  me  what  stabbed  the  butler,"  Shovel 
interposed,  jealously. 

"  How  could  you  do  it,  Shovel  ?  " 

"  With  a  knife,  I  tell  yer ! " 

"  Why,  you  did  n't  have  no  knife,"  said  Tommy, 
impatiently. 

This  crushed  Shovel,  but  he  growled  sulkily : 

"  Well,  I  bit  him  in  the  leg." 

**  Not  you,"  said  selfish  Tommy.     "  You  for- 

9* 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

gets  about  repenting,  and  if  I  let  yer  bite  him,  you 
would  brag  about  it.  It's  safer  without,  Shovel." 

Perhaps  it  was.  "  How  long  did  I  get  in  quod, 
then,  Tommy?" 

"  Fourteen  days." 

"  So  did  you  ?  "  Shovel  said,  with  quick  anxiety 

"  I  got  a  month,"  replied  Tommy,  firmly. 

Shovel  roared  a  word  that  would  never  have  ad- 
mitted him  to  the  hall.  Then,  "  I'm  as  game  as 
you,  and  gamer,"  he  whined. 

"  But  I'm  better  at  repenting.  I  tell  yer,  I'll 
cry  when  I'm  repenting."  Tommy's  face  lit  up, 
and  Shovel  could  not  help  saying,  with  a  curious 
look  at  it : 

"  You  —  you  ain't  like  any  other  cove  I  knows," 
to  which  Tommy  replied,  also  in  an  awestruck 
voice : 

"  I'm  so  queer,  Shovel,  that  when  I  thinks  'bout 
myself  I'm  —  I'm  sometimes  near  feared." 

"  What  makes  your  face  for  to  shine  like  that  *? 
Is  it  thinking  about  the  blow-out  ?  " 

No,  it  was  hardly  that,  but  Tommy  could  not 
tell  what  it  was.  He  and  the  saying  about  art  for 
art's  sake  were  in  the  streets  that  night,  looking  for 
each  other. 

The  splendour  of  the  brightly  lighted  hall,  which 
was  situated  in  one  of  the  meanest  streets  of  per- 
haps the  most  densely  populated  quarter  in  Lon- 
don, broke  upon  the  two  boys  suddenly  and  hit 

92 


THE   BOY   WITH   TWO   MOTHERS 

each  in  his  vital  part,  tapping  an  invitation  on 
Tommy's  brain-pan  and  taking  Shovel  coquettishly 
in  the  stomach.  Now  was  the  moment  when 
Shovel  meant  to  strip  Tommy  of  the  ticket,  but 
the  spectacle  in  front  dazed  him,  and  he  stopped 
to  tell  a  vegetable  barrow  how  he  loved  his  dear 
father  and  his  dear  mother,  and  all  the  dear  kids  at 
home.  Then  Tommy  darted  forward  and  was  im- 
mediately lost  in  the  crowd  surging  round  the  steps 
of  the  hall. 

Several  gentlemen  in  evening  dress  stood  framed 
in  the  lighted  doorway,  shouting :  "  Have  your 
tickets  in  your  hands  and  give  them  up  as  you 
pass  in."  They  were  fine  fellows,  helping  in  a 
splendid  work,  and  their  society  did  much  good, 
though  it  was  not  so  well  organized  as  others  that 
have  followed  in  its  steps ;  but  Shovel,  you  may 
believe,  was  in  no  mood  to  attend  to  them.  He 
had  but  one  thought :  that  the  traitor  Tommy  was 
doubtless  at  that  moment  boring  his  way  toward 
them,  underground,  as  it  were,  and  "  holding  his 
ticket  in  his  hand."  Shovel  dived  into  the  rabble 
and  was  flung  back  upside  down.  Falling  with 
his  arms  round  a  full-grown  man,  he  immediately 
ran  up  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  lamp-post,  and  was 
aloft  just  sufficiently  long  to  see  Tommy  give  up 
the  ticket  and  saunter  into  the  hall. 

The  crowd  tried  at  intervals  to  rush  the  door. 
It  was  mainly  composed  of  ragged  boys,  but  here 

93 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

and  there  were  men,  women,  and  girls,  who  came 
into  view  for  a  moment  under  the  lights  as  the 
mob  heaved  and  went  round  and  round  like  a 
boiling  potful.  Two  policemen  joined  the  ticket- 
collectors,  and  though  it  was  a  good-humoured 
gathering,  the  air  was  thick  with  such  cries  as 
these : 

"  I  lorst  my  ticket,  ain't  I  telling  yer  ?  Gar  on, 
guv'nor,  lemme  in!" 

"  Oh,  crumpets,  look  at  Jimmy !  Jimmy  never 
done  nothink,  your  honour;  he's  a  himposter." 

"  I'm  the  boy  what  kicked  the  peeler.  Hie, 
you  toff  with  the  choker,  ain't  I  to  step  up  ?  " 

"  Tell  yer,  I'm  a  genooine  criminal,  I  am.  If 
yer  don't  lemme  in  I'll  have  the  lawr  on  you." 

"Let  a  poor  cove  in  as  his  father  drownded 
hisself  for  his  country." 

"What  air  yer  torking  about?  Warn't  I  in 
larst  year,  and  the  cuss  as  runs  the  show,  he  says 
to  me,  '  Allers  welcome,'  he  says.  None  on  your 
sarse,  Bobby.  I  demands  to  see  the  cuss  what 
runs- 

"  Jest  keeping  on  me  out  'cos  I  ain't  done 
nothin'.  Ho,  this  is  a  encouragement  to  honesty, 
I  don't  think." 

Mighty  in  tongue  and  knee  and  elbow  was  an 
unknown  knight,  ever  conspicuous;  it  might  be 
but  by  a  leg  waving  for  one  brief  moment  in  the 
ait.  He  did  not  want  to  go  in,  would  not  go  in 

94 


THE  BOY   WITH   TWO   MOTHERS 

though  they  went  on  their  blooming  knees  to  him ; 
he  was  after  a  viper  of  the  name  of  Tommy. 
Half  an  hour  had  not  tired  him,  and  he  was  lead- 
ing another  assault,  when  a  magnificent  lady,  such 
as  you  see  in  wax-works,  appeared  in  the  vestibule 
and  made  some  remark  to  a  policeman,  who  then 
shouted : 

"  If  so  there  be  hany  lad  here  called  Shovel,  he 
can  step  forrard." 

A  dozen  lads  stepped  forward  at  once,  but  a  flail 
drove  them  right  and  left,  and  the  unknown  knight 
had  mounted  the  parapet  amid  a  shower  of  exe- 
crations. "  If  you  are  the  real  Shovel,"  the  lady 
said  to  him,  "  you  can  tell  me  how  this  proceeds, 
'  I  love  my  dear  father  and  my  dear  mother  — 
Go  on." 

Shovel  obeyed,  tremblingly.  "  And  all  the  dear 
little  kids  at  'ome.  You  are  a  kind  laidy  or  gen- 
tleman. I  love  yer.  I  will  never  do  it  again,  so 
help  me  bob.  Amen." 

"  Charming ! "  chirped  the  lady,  and  down 
pleasantly-smelling  aisles  she  led  him,  pausing  to 
drop  an  observation  about  Tommy  to  a  clergy- 
man :  "  So  glad  I  came ;  I  have  discovered  the 
most  delightful  little  monster  called  Tommy." 
The  clergyman  looked  after  her  half  in  sadness, 
half  sarcastically;  he  was  thinking  that  he  had 
discovered  a  monster  also. 

At  present  the  body  of  the  hall  was  empty,  but 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

its  sides  were  lively  with  gorging  boys,  among 
whom  ladies  moved,  carrying  platefuls  of  good 
things.  Most  of  them  were  sweet  women,  fight- 
ing bravely  for  these  boys,  and  not  at  all  like 
Shovel's  patroness,  who  had  come  for  a  sensation. 
Tommy  falling  into  her  hands,  she  got  it. 

Tommy,  who  had  a  corner  to  himself,  was  loll- 
ing in  it  like  a  little  king,  and  he  not  only  or« 
dered  roast-beef  for  the  awe-struck  Shovel,  but  sent 
the  lady  back  for  salt.  Then  he  whispered,  exult* 
antly:  "  Quick,  Shovel,  feel  my  pocket"  (it  bulged 
with  two  oranges),  "now  the  inside  pocket"  (plum- 
duff),  "  now  my  waistcoat  pocket "  (threepence) ; 
"  look  in  my  mouth  "  (chocolates). 

When  Shovel  found  speech  he  began  excitedly: 
"  I  love  my  dear  father  and  my  dear " 

"  Gach ! "  said  Tommy,  interrupting  him  con- 
temptuously. "Repenting  ain't  no  go,  Shovel. 
Look  at  them  other  coves ;  none  of  them  has  got 
no  money,  nor  full  pockets,  and  I  tell  you,  it's  'cos 
they  has  repented." 

"  Gar  on ! " 

"  It's  true,  I  tells  you.  That  lady  as  is  my  one, 
she's  called  her  ladyship,  and  she  don't  care  a  cuss 
for  boys  as  has  repented,"  which  of  course  was  a 
libel,  her  ladyship  being  celebrated  wherever  para- 
graphs penetrate  for  having  knitted  a  pair  of  stock- 
ings for  the  deserving  poor. 

"When  I  saw  that,"  Tommy  continued  bra- 

96 


THE   BOY   WITH   TWO   MOTHERS 

zenly,  "  I  bragged  'stead  of  repenting,  and  the  wuss 
I  says  I  am,  she  jest  says,  'You  little  monster,' 
and  gives  me  another  orange." 

"Then  I'm  done  for,"  Shovel  moaned,  "for  I 
rolled  off  that  'bout  loving  my  dear  father  and  my 
dear  mother,  blast  'em,  soon  as  I  seen  her." 

He  need  not  let  that  depress  him.  Tommy  had 
told  her  he  would  say  it,  but  it  was  all  flam. 

Shovel  thought  the  ideal  arrangement  would  be 
for  him  to  eat  and  leave  the  torking  to  Tommy, 
Tommy  noddedo  "  I'm  full,  at  any  rate,"  he  said, 
struggling  with  his  waistcoat.  "  Oh,  Shovel,  I  am 
full ! " 

Her  ladyship  returned,  and  the  boys  held  by 
their  contract,  but  of  the  dark  character  Tommy 
seems  to  have  been,  let  not  these  pages  bear  the 
record.  Do  you  wonder  that  her  ladyship  be- 
lieved him  ?  On  this  point  we  must  fight  for  our 
Tommy.  You  would  have  believed  him.  Even 
Shovel,  who  knew,  between  the  bites,  that  it  was 
all  whoppers,  listened  as  to  his  father  reading 
aloud.  This  was  because  another  boy  present 
half  believed  it  for  the  moment  also.  When  he 
described  the  eerie  darkness  of  the  butler's  pantry, 
he  shivered  involuntarily,  and  he  shut  his  eyes 
once — ugh! — that  was  because  he  saw  the  blood 
spouting  out  of  the  butler.  He  was  turning  up 
his  trousers  to  show  the  mark  of  the  butler's  boot 
on  his  leg  when  the  lady  was  called  away,  and 

Q7 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

then  Shovel  shook  him,  saying :  "  Darn  yer, 
doesn't  yer  know  as  it's  all  your  eye  ? "  which 
brought  Tommy  to  his  senses  with  a  jerk, 

"Sure's  death,  Shovel,"  he  whispered,  in  awe, 
"  I  was  thinking  I  done  it,  every  bit ! " 

Had  her  ladyship  come  back  she  would  have 
found  him  a  different  boy.  He  remembered  now 
that  Elspeth,  for  whom  he  had  filled  his  pockets, 
was  praying  for  him;  he  could  see  her  on  her 
knees,  saying,  "Oh,  God,  I'se  praying  for  Tommy," 
and  remorse  took  hold  of  him  and  shook  him  on 
his  seat.  He  broke  into  one  hysterical  laugh  and 
then  immediately  began  to  sob.  This  was  the 
moment  when  Shovel  should  have  got  him  quietly 
out  of  the  hall. 

Members  of  the  society  discussing  him  after- 
wards with  bated  breath  said  that  never  till  they 
died  could  they  forget  her  ladyship's  face  while  he 
did  it.  "  But  did  you  notice  the  boy's  own  face  *? 
It  was  positively  angelic."  "Angelic,  indeed;  the 
little  horror  was  intoxicated."  No,  there  was  a 
doctor  present,  and  according  to  him  it  was  the 
meal  that  had  gone  to  the  boy's  head ;  he  looked 
half  starved.  As  for  the  clergyman,  he  only  said  : 
"  We  shall  lose  her  subscription ;  I  am  glad  of  it." 

Yes,  Tommy  was  intoxicated,  but  with  a  bever- 
age not  recognized  by  the  faculty.  What  hap- 
pened was  this:  Supper  being  finished,  the  time 
had  come  for  what  Shovel  called  the  jawing,  and 

98 


THE   BOY    WITH   TWO   MOTHERS 

the  boys  were  now  mustered  in  the  body  of  the 
hall.  The  limited  audience  had  gone  to  the  gal- 
lery, and  unluckily  all  eyes  except  Shovel's  were 
turned  to  the  platform.  Shovel  was  apprehensive 
about  Tommy,  who  was  not  exactly  sobbing  now  ; 
but  strange,  uncontrollable  sounds  not  unlike  the 
winding  up  of  a  clock  proceeded  from  his  throat ; 
his  face  had  flushed ;  there  was  a  purposeful  look 
in  his  usually  unreadable  eye ;  his  fingers  were 
fidgeting  on  the  board  in  front  of  him,  and  he 
seemed  to  keep  his  seat  with  difficulty. 

The  personage  who  was  to  address  the  boys 
sat  on  the  platform  with  clergymen,  members  of 
committee,  and  some  ladies,  one  of  them  Tom- 
my's patroness.  Her  ladyship  saw  Tommy  and 
smiled  to  him,  but  obtained  no  response.  She 
had  taken  a  front  seat,  a  choice  that  she  must  have 
regretted  presently. 

The  chairman  rose  and  announced  that  the  Rev. 
Mr.  -  -  would  open  the  proceedings  with  prayer. 

The  Rev.  Mr. rose  to  pray  in  a  loud  voice  for 

the  waifs  in  the  body  of  the  hall.  At  the  same 
moment  rose  Tommy,  and  began  to  pray  in  a 
squeaky  voice  for  the  people  on  the  platform. 

He  had  many  Biblical  phrases,  mostly  picked 
up  in  Thrums  Street,  and  what  he  said  was  dis- 
tinctly heard  in  the  stillness,  the  clergyman  being 
suddenly  bereft  of  speech.  "  Oh,"  he  cried,  "  look 
down  on  them  ones  there,  for,  oh,  they  are  unworthy 

9Q 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

of  Thy  mercy,  and,  oh,  the  worst  sinner  is  her  la- 
dyship, her  sitting  there  so  brazen  in  the  black 
frock  with  yellow  stripes,  and  the  worse  I  said  I 
were  the  better  pleased  were  she.  Oh,  make  her 
think  shame  for  tempting  of  a  poor  boy,  forgetting 
suffer  little  children,  oh,  why  curnbereth  she  the 

ground,  oh " 

He  was  in  full  swing  before  anyone  could  act. 
Shovel  having  failed  to  hold  him  in  his  seat,  had 
done  what  was,  perhaps,  the  next  best  thing, 
got  beneath  it  himself.  The  arm  of  the  petrified 
clergyman  was  still  extended,  as  if  blessing  his 
brother's  remarks;  the  chairman  seemed  to  be 
trying  to  fling  his  right  hand  at  the  culprit;  but 
her  ladyship,  after  the  first  stab,  never  moved  a 
muscle.  Thus  for  nearly  half  a  minute,  when  the 
officials  woke  up,  and  squeezing  past  many  knees, 
seized  Tommy  by  the  neck  and  ran  him  out  of 
the  building.  All  down  the  aisle  he  prayed  hys- 
terically, and  for  some  time  afterwards,  to  Shovel, 
who  had  been  cast  forth  along  with  him. 

At  an  hour  of  that  night  when  their  mother 
was  asleep,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  they  were  the 
only  two  children  awake  in  London,  Tommy  sat 
up  softly  in  the  wardrobe  to  discover  whether 
Elspeth  was  still  praying  for  him.  He  knew  that 
she  was  on  the  floor  in  a  nightgown  some  twelve 
sizes  too  large  for  her,  but  the  room  was  as  silent 

JOO 


THE   BOY   WITH   TWO   MOTHERS 

and  black  as  the  world  he  had  just  left,  by  taking 
his  fingers  from  his  ears  and  the  blankets  off  his  face. 

"  I  see  you,"  he  said  mendaciously,  and  in  a 
guarded  voice,  so  as  not  to  waken  his  mother,  from 
#hom  he  had  kept  his  escapade.  This  had  not 
the  desired  effect  of  drawing  a  reply  from  Elspeth, 
and  he  tried  bluster. 

"  You  needna  think  as  I'll  repent,  you  brat,  so 
there!  What? 

"  I  wish  I  hadna  told  you  about  it ! "  Indeed, 
he  had  endeavoured  not  to  do  so,  but  pride  in  his 
achievement  had  eventually  conquered  prudence. 

"  Reddy  would  have  laughed,  she  would,  and 
said  as  I  was  a  wonder.  Reddy  was  the  kind  I 
like.  What? 

"  You  ate  up  the  oranges  quick,  and  the  plum- 
duff  too,  so  you  should  pray  for  yoursel'  as  well 
as  for  me.  It's  easy  to  say  as  you  didn^  know 
how  I  got  them  till  after  you  eated  them,  but  you 
should  have  found  out.  What  ? 

"  Do  you  think  it  was  for  my  own  self  as  I  done 
it?  I  jest  done  it  to  get  the  oranges  and  plum- 
duff  to  you.  I  did,  and  the  threepence,  too.  Eh  ? 
Speak,  you  little  besom. 

"  I  tell  you  as  I  did  repent  in  the  hall.  I  was 
greeting,  and  I  never  knowed  I  put  up  that  prayer 
till  Shovel  told  me  on  it.  We  was  sitting  in  the 
street  by  that  time." 

This  was  true.  On  leaving  the  hall  Tommy 
101 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

had  soon  dropped  to  the  cold  ground  and  squatted 
there  till  he  came  to,  when  he  remembered  nothing 
of  what  had  led  to  his  expulsion.  Like  a  stream 
that  has  run  into  a  pond  and  only  finds  itself  again 
when  it  gets  out,  he  was  but  a  continuation  of  the 
boy  who  when  last  conscious  of  himself  was  in  the 
corner  crying  remorsefully  over  his  misdeed ;  and 
in  this  humility  he  would  have  returned  to  Elspeth 
had  no  one  told  him  of  his  prayer.  Shovel,  how- 
ever, was  at  hand,  not  only  to  tell  him  all  about 
it,  but  to  applaud,  and  home  strutted  Tommy 
chuckling. 

"  I  am  sleeping,"  he  next  said  to  Elspeth,  "so 
you  may  as  well  come  to  your  bed." 

He  imitated  the  breathing  of  a  sleeper,  but  it 
was  the  only  sound  to  be  heard  in  London,  and 
he  desisted  fearfully.  "  Come  away,  Elspeth,"  he 
said,  coaxingly,  for  he  was  very  fond  of  her  and 
could  not  sleep  while  she  was  cold  and  miserable. 

Still  getting  no  response  he  pulled  his  body  inch 
by  inch  out  of  the  bedclothes,  and  holding  his 
breath,  found  the  floor  with  his  feet  stealthily,  as 
if  to  cheat  the  wardrobe  into  thinking  that  he  was 
still  in  it.  But  his  reason  was  to  discover  whether 
Elspeth  had  fallen  asleep  on  her  knees  without  her 
learning  that  he  cared  to  know.  Almost  noise- 
lessly he  worked  himself  along  the  floor,  but  when 
he  stopped  to  bring  his  face  nearer  hers,  there  was 
iuch  a  creaking  of  his  joints  that  if  Elspeth.  did 

102 


THE   BOY    WITH    TWO   MOTHERS 

not  hear  it  she  —  she  must  be  dead !  His  knees 
played  whack  on  the  floor. 

Elspeth  only  gasped  once,  but  he  heard,  and  re- 
mained beside  her  for  a  minute,  so  that  she  might 
hug  him  if  such  was  her  desire ;  and  she  put  out 
her  hand  in  the  darkness  so  that  his  should  not 
have  far  to  travel  alone  if  it  chanced  to  be  on  the 
way  to  her.  Thus  they  sat  on  their  knees,  each 
aghast  at  the  hard-heartedness  of  the  other. 

Tommy  put  the  blankets  over  the  kneeling 
figure,  and  presently  announced  from  the  wardrobe 
that  if  he  died  of  cold  before  repenting  the  blame 
of  keeping  him  out  of  heaven  would  be  Elspeth's. 
But  the  last  word  was  muffled,  for  the  blankets 
were  tucked  about  him  as  he  spoke,  and  two 
motherly  little  arms  gave  him  the  embrace  they 
wanted  to  withhold.  Foiled  again,  he  kicked  off 
the  bedclothes  and  said :  "  I  tell  yer  I  wants  to 
die ! " 

This  terrified  both  of  them,  and  he  added, 
quickly : 

"  Oh,  God,  if  I  was  sure  I  were  to  die  to-night 
I  would  repent  at  once."  It  is  the  commonest 
prayer  in  all  languages,  but  down  on  her  knees 
slipped  Elspeth  again,  and  Tommy,  who  felt  that 
it  had  done  him  good,  said  indignantly :  "  Surely 
that  is  religion.  What  ?  " 

He  lay  on  his  face  until  he  was  frightened  by  a 
noise  louder  than  thunder  in  the  daytime  —  the 

103 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

scraping  of  his  eyelashes  on  the  pillow.  Then  he 
sat  up  in  the  wardrobe  and  fired  his  three  last 
shots. 

"  Elspeth  Sandys,  I'm  done  with  yer  forever,  I 
am.  I'll  take  care  on  yer,  but  I'll  never  kiss  yer 
no  more. 

"  When  yer  boasts  as  I'm  your  brother  I'll  say 
you  ain't.  I'll  tell  my  mother  about  Reddy  the 
mom,  and  syne  she'll  put  you  to  the  door  smart. 

"  When  you  are  a  grown  woman  I'll  buy  a 
house  to  yer,  but  you'll  have  jest  to  bide  in  it  by 
your  lonely  self,  and  I'll  come  once  a  year  to  speir 
how  you  are,  but  I  won't  come  in,  I  won't  —  Til 
jest  cry  up  the  stair." 

The  effect  of  this  was  even  greater  than  he  had 
expected,  for  now  two  were  in  tears  instead  of  one, 
and  Tommy's  grief  was  the  more  heartrending,  he 
was  so  much  better  at  everything  than  Elspeth. 
He  jumped  out  of  the  wardrobe  and  ran  to  her, 
calling  her  name,  and  he  put  his  arms  round  her 
cold  body,  and  the  dear  mite,  forgetting  how 
cruelly  he  had  used  her,  cried,  "  Oh,  tighter, 
Tommy,  tighter  ;  you  didn't  not  mean  it,  did  yer  ? 
Oh,  you  is  terrible  fond  on  me,  ain't  yer?  And 
you  won't  not  tell  my  mother  'bout  Reddy,  will 
yer,  and  you  is  no  done  wi'  me  forever,  is  yer? 
and  you  won't  not  put  me  in  a  house  by  myself, 
will  yer?  Oh,  Tommy,  is  that  the  tightest  you 
can  do  ?  " 

104 


THE  BOY   WITH   TWO  MOTHERS 

And  Tommy  made  it  tighter,  vowing,  "  I  nevei 
meant  it;  I  was  a  bad  im  to  say  it.  If  Reddy 
were  to  come  back  wanting  for  to  squeeze  you  out, 
I  would  send  her  packing  quick,  I  would.  I  tell 
yer  what,  I'll  kiss  you  with  folk  looking  on,  I  will, 
and  no  be  ashamed  to  do  it,  and  if  Shovel  is  one 
of  them  what  sees  me,  and  he  puts  his  finger  to  his 
nose,  I'll  blood  the  mouth  of  him,  I  will,  dagont ! " 

Then  he  prayed  for  forgiveness,  and  he  could 
always  pray  more  beautifully  than  Elspeth.  Even 
she  was  satisfied  with  the  way  he  did  it,  and  so, 
alack,  was  he. 

"  But  you  forgot  to  tell,"  she  said  fondly,  when 
once  more  they  were  in  the  wardrobe  together  — 
"  you  forgot  to  tell  as  you  filled  your  pockets  wif 
things  to  me." 

"  I  didn't  forget,"  Tommy  replied  modestly. 
"  I  missed  it  out  on  purpose,  I  did,  'cos  I  was  sure 
God  knows  on  it  without  my  telling  him,  and  I 
thought  he  would  be  pleased  if  I  didn't  let  on  as 
I  knowed  it  was  good  of  me." 

"  Oh,  Tommy,"  cried  Elspeth,  worshipping  him, 
"  I  couldn't  have  doned  that,  I  couldn't ! "     She* 
was  barely  six,  and  easily  taken  in,  but  she  would 
save  him  from  himself  if  she  could. 


IOC 


CHAPTER   IX 

AULD   LANG  SYNE 

WHAT  to  do  with  her  ladyship's  threepence? 
Tommy  finally  decided  to  drop  it  into  the  charity- 
box  that  had  once  contained  his  penny.  They 
held  it  over  the  slit  together,  Elspeth  almost  in 
tears  because  it  was  such  a  large  sum  to  give 
away,  but  Tommy  looking  noble  he  was  so  proud 
of  himself;  and  when  he  said  "  Three ! "  they  let 

go- 
There    followed    days   of  excitement   centred 

round  their  money-box.  Shovel  introduced  Tommy 
to  a  boy  what  said  as  after  a  bit  you  forget  how 
much  money  was  in  your  box,  and  then  when  you 
opened  it,  oh,  Lor' !  there  is  more  than  you 
thought,  so  he  and  Elspeth  gave  this  plan  a 
week's  trial,  affecting  not  to  know  how  much  they 
had  gathered,  but  when  they  unlocked  it,  the  sum 
was  still  only  eightpence ;  so  then  Tommy  told 
the  liar  to  come  on,  and  they  fought  while  the 
horrified  Elspeth  prayed,  and  Tommy  licked  him, 
a  result  due  to  one  of  the  famous  Thrums  left- 

106 


AULD   LANG   SYNE 

banders  then  on  exhibition  in  that  street  for  the 
first  time,  as  taught  the  victor  by  Petey  Wha- 
mond  the  younger,  late  of  Tillyloss. 

The  money  did  come  in,  once  in  spate  (two 
pence  from  Bob  in  twenty-four  hours),  but  usu- 
ally so  slowly  that  they  saw  it  resting  on  the  way, 
and  then,  when  they  listened  intently,  they  could 
hear  the  thud  of  Hogmanay.  The  last  halfpenny 
was  a  special  aggravation,  strolling  about,  just  out 
of  reach,  with  all  the  swagger  of  sixpence,  but  at 
last  Elspeth  had  it,  and  after  that,  the  sooner 
Hogmanay  came  the  better. 

They  concealed  their  excitement  under  too 
many  wrappings,  but  their  mother  suspected  no- 
thing. When  she  was  dressing  on  the  morning  of 
Hogmanay,,  her  stockings  happened  to  be  at  the 
other  side  of  the  room,  and  they  were  such  a  long 
way  off  that  she  rested  on  the  way  to  them.  At 
the  meagre  breakfast  she  said  what  a  heavy  tea- 
pot that  was,  and  Tommy  thought  this  funny,  but 
the  salt  had  gone  from  the  joke  when  he  remem- 
bered it  afterwards.  And  when  she  was  ready  to 
go  off  to  her  work  she  hesitated  at  the  door,  look- 
ing at  her  bed  and  from  it  to  her  children  as  if  in 
two  minds,  and  then  went  quietly  downstairs. 

The  distance  seems  greater  than  ever  to-day, 
poor  woman,  and  you  stop  longer  at  the  corners, 
where  rude  men  jeer  at  you.  Scarcely  can  you 
push  open  the  door  of  the  dancing-school  or  lift 

107 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

the  pail ;  the  fire  has  gone  out,  you  must  again  go 
on  your  knees  before  it,  and  again  the  smoke 
makes  you  cough.  Gaunt  slattern,  fighting  to 
bring  up  the  phlegm,  was  it  really  you  for  whom 
another  woman  gave  her  life,  and  thought  it  a  rich 
reward  to  get  dressing  you  once  in  your  long 
clothes,  when  she  called  you  her  beautiful,  and 
smiled,  and  smiling,  died  ?  Well,  well ;  but  take 
courage,  Jean  Myles.  The  long  road  still  lies 
straight  up  hill,  but  your  climbing  is  near  an  end. 
Shrink  from  the  rude  men  no  more,  they  are  soon 
to  forget  you,  so  soon!  It  is  a  heavy  door,  but 
soon  you  will  have  pushed  it  open  for  the  last 
time.  The  girls  will  babble  still,  but  not  to  you, 
not  of  you.  Cheer  up,  the  work  is  nearly  done. 
Her  beautiful!  Come,  beautiful,  strength  for  a 
few  more  days,  and  then  you  can  leave  the  key 
of  the  leaden  door  behind  you,  and  on  your  way 
home  you  may  kiss  your  hand  joyously  to  the 
weary  streets,  for  you  are  going  to  die. 

Tommy  and  Elspeth  had  been  to  the  foot  of 
the  stair  many  times  to  look  for  her  before  their 
mother  came  back  that  evening,  yet  when  she  re- 
entered  her  home,  behold,  they  were  sitting  calmly 
on  the  fender  as  if  this  were  a  day  like  yesterday 
or  to-morrow,  as  if  Tommy  had  not  been  on  a 
business  visit  to  Thrums  Street,  as  if  the  hump  on 
the  bed  did  not  mean  that  a  glorious  something 

108 


AULD   LANG   SYNE 

was  hidden  under  the  coverlet.     True,   Elspeth 
would   look   at   Tommy  imploringly  every  few 
minutes,  meaning  that  she  could  not  keep  it  in 
much  longer,  and  then  Tommy  would  mutter  the 
one  word  "  Bell  "  to  remind  her  that  it  was  against 
the  rules  to  begin  before  the  Thrums  eight-o'clock 
bell  rang.     They  also  wiled  away  the  time  of  wait- 
ing by  inviting  each  other  to  conferences  at  the 
window  where  these  whispers  passed  — 
"  She  ain't  got  a  notion,  Tommy." 
"  Dinna  look  so  often  at  the  bed." 
"  If  I  could  jest  get  one  more  peep  at  it!" 
"No,  no;  but  you  can  put  your  hand  on  the 
top  of  it  as  you  go  by." 

The  artfulness  of  Tommy  lured  his  unsuspect- 
ing mother  into  telling  how  they  would  be  holding 
Hogmanay  in  Thrums  to-night,  how  cartloads  of 
kebbock  cheeses  had  been  rolling  into  the  town 
all  the  livelong  day  ("Do  you  hear  them,  El- 
speth ?"),  and  in  dark  closes  the  children  were  al- 
ready gathering,  with  smeared  faces  and  in  eccentric 
dress,  to  sally  forth  as  guisers  at  the  clap  of  eight, 
when  the  ringing  of  a  bell  lets  Hogmanay  loose. 
("  You  see,  Elspeth  ?  ")  Inside  the  houses  men 
and  women  were  preparing  (though  not  by  fast- 
ing, which  would  have  been  such  a  good  way  that 
it  is  surprising  no  one  ever  thought  of  it)  for  a 
series  of  visits,  at  every  one  of  which  thev  would 

109 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

be  offered  a  dram  and  kebbock  and  bannock,  and 
in  the  grander  houses  "  bridles,"  which  are  a  sub- 
lime kind  of  pie. 

Tommy  had  the  audacity  to  ask  what  bridies 
were  like.  And  he  could  not  dress  up  and  be  a 
guiser,  could  he,  mother,  for  the  guisers  sang  a 
song,  and  he  did  not  know  the  words'?  What  a 
pity  they  could  not  get  bridies  to  buy  in  London, 
and  learn  the  song  and  sing  it.  But  of  course 
they  could  not !  ("  Elspeth,  if  you  tumble  off  the 
fender  again,  she'll  guess.") 

Such  is  a  sample  of  Tommy,  but  Elspeth  was 
sly  also,  if  in  a  smaller  way,  and  it  was  she  who 
said:  "There  ain't  nothin'  in  the  bed,  is  there, 
Tommy ! "  This  duplicity  made  her  uneasy,  and 
she  added,  behind  her  teeth,  "  Maybe  there  is,"  and 
then,  "  O  God,  I  knows  as  there  is." 

But  as  the  great  moment  drew  near  there  were 
no  more  questions ;  two  children  were  staring  at 
the  clock  and  listening  intently  for  the  peal  of  a 
bell  nearly  five  hundred  miles  away. 

The  clock  struck.  "  Whisht !  It's  time,  El- 
speth !  They've  begun !  Come  on ! " 

A  few  minutes  afterwards  Mrs.  Sandys  was 
roused  by  a  knock  at  the  door,  followed  by  the 
entrance  of  two  mysterious  figures.  The  female 
wore  a  boy's  jacket  turned  outside  in,  the  male  a 
woman's  bonnet  and  a  shawl,  and  to  make  his  dis- 
guise the  more  impenetrable  he  carried  a  poker  in 

no 


AULD   LANG   SYNE 

his  right  hand.     They  stopped  in  the  middle  of 
the  floor  and  began  to  recite,  rather  tremulously, 

Get  up,  good  wife,  and  binna  sweir, 
And  deal  your  bread  to  them  that's  here, 
For  the  time  will  come  when  you'll  be  dead, 
And  then  you'll  need  neither  ale  nor  bread. 

Mrs.  Sandys  had  started,  and  then  turned  pite- 
ously  from  them;  but  when  they  were  done  she 
tried  to  smile,  and  said,  with  forced  gaiety,  that 
she  saw  they  were  guisers,  and  it  was  a  fine  night, 
and  would  they  take  a  chair.  The  male  stranger 
did  so  at  once,  but  the  female  said,  rather  anxiously: 
"  You  are  sure  as  you  don't  know  who  we  is  ?  " 
Their  hostess  shook  her  head,  and  then  he  of  the 
poker  offered  her  three  guesses,  a  daring  thing  to 
do,  but  all  went  well,  for  her  first  guess  was  Shovel 
and  his  old  girl ;  second  guess,  Before  and  After ; 
third  guess,  Napoleon  Buonaparte  and  the  Auld 
Licht  minister.  At  each  guess  the  smaller  of  the 
intruders  clapped  her  hands  gleefully,  but  when, 
with  the  ftrird,  she  was  unmuzzled,  she  putted  with 
her  head  at  Mrs.  Sandys  and  hugged  her,  scream- 
ing, "  It  ain't  none  on  them ;  it's  jest  me,  mother, 
it's  Elspeth ! "  and  even  while  their  astounded 
hostess  was  asking  could  it  be  true,  the  male  con- 
spirator dropped  his  poker  noisily  (to  draw  atten- 
tion to  himself)  and  stood  revealed  as  Thomas 
Sandys. 

ill 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Wasn't  it  just  like  Thrums,  wasn't  it  just  the 
very,  very  same  ?  Ah,  it  was  wonderful,  their 
mother  said,  but,  alas  there  was  one  thing  want- 
ing: she  had  no  Hogmanay  to  give  the  guisers. 

Had  she  not  ?  What  a  pity,  Elspeth !  What 
a  pity,  Tommy !  What  might  that  be  in  the  bedt 
Elspeth  ?  It  couldn't  not  be  their  Hogmanay, 
could  it,  Tommy  ?  If  Tommy  was  his  mother  he 
would  look  and  see.  If  Elspeth  was  her  mothei 
she  would  took  and  see. 

Her  curiosity  thus  cunningly  aroused,  Mrs. 
Sandys  raised  the  coverlet  of  the  bed  and  —  there 
were  three  bridies,  an  oatmeal  cake,  and  a  hunk 
of  kebbock.  "  And  they  corned  from  Thrums ! " 
cried  Elspeth,  while  Tommy  cried, 6t  Petey  and  the 
others  got  a  lot  sent  from  Thrums,  and  I  bought 
the  bridies  from  them,  and  they  gave  rne  the  ban- 
nock and  the  kebbock  for  nuthin' ! "  Their  mothei 
did  not  utter  the  cry  of  rapture  which  Tommy  ex- 
pected so  confidently  that  he  could  have  done  it 
for  her ;  instead,  she  pulled  her  two  children  toward 
her,  and  the  great  moment  was  like  to  be  a  tearful 
rathei  than  an  ecstatic  one,  for  Elspeth  had  begun 
to  whimper,  and  even  Tommy — but  by  a  supreme 
effort  he  shouldered  reality  to  the  door. 

m "  Is  this  my  Hogmanay,  guidwife  1 "  he  asked 
rn  the  nick  of  time,  and  the  situation  thus  being 
saved,  the  luscious  feast  was  partaken  o£  the 
guisers  listening  solemnly  as  each  bite  went  down. 

112 


AULD   LANG   SYNE 

They  also  took  care  to  address  their  hostess  as 
"  guidwife  "  or  "  mistress,"  affecting  not  to  have 
met  her  lately,  and  inquiring  genially  after  the 
health  of  herself  and  family.  "  How  many  have 
you?"  was  Tommy's  masterpiece,  and  she  an- 
swered in  the  proper  spirit,  but  all  the  time  she 
was  hiding  great  part  of  her  bridie  beneath  her 
apron,  Hogmanay  having  come  too  late  for  her. 

Everything  was  to  be  done  exactly  as  they  were 
doing  it  in  Thrums  Street,  and  so  presently  Tommy 
made  a  speech ;  it  was  the  speech  of  old  Petey,  who 
had  rehearsed  it  several  times  before  him.  "  Here's 
a  toast,"  said  Tommy,  standing  up  and  waving  his 
arms,  **  here's  a  toast  that  we'll  drink  in  silence,  one 
that  maun  have  sad  thoughts  at  the  back  o't  to 
some  of  us,  but  one,  my  friends,  that  keeps  the 
hearts  of  Thrums  folk  green  and  ties  us  all  the- 
gither,  like  as  it  were  wi'  twine.  It's  to  all  them, 
wherever  they  may  be  the  night,  wha*  have  sat  as 
lads  and  lasses  at  the  Cuttle  Well" 

To  one  of  the  listeners  it  was  such  an  unex- 
pected ending  that  a  faint  cry  broke  from  her, 
which  startled  the  children,  and  they  sat  in  silence 
looking  at  her  She  had  turned  her  face  from 
them,  but  her  arm  was  extended  as  if  entreating 
Tommy  to  stop. 

"  That  was  the  end,"  he  said,  at  length,  in  a  tone 
of  expostulation ;  "  it's  auld  Petey's  speech," 

"Are  you  sure,"  his  mother  asked   wistfully. 


SENTIMENTAL    TOMMY 

"  that  Petey  was  to  say  all  them  as  have  sat  at  the 
Cuttle  Well  2     He  made  no  exception,  did  he  ?  " 

Tommy  did  not  know  what  exception  was,  but 
he  assured  her  that  he  had  repeated  the  speech, 
word  for  word.  For  the  remainder  of  th.  evening 
she  sat  apart  by  the  fire,  while  her  children  gam- 
bled for  crack-nuts,  young  Petey  having  made  a 
teetotum  for  Tommy  and  taught  him  what  the 
letters  on  it  meant.  Their  mirth  rang  faintly  in 
her  ear,  and  they  scarcely  heard  her  fits  of  cough- 
ing; she  was  as  much  engrossed  in  her  own  thoughts 
as  they  in  theirs,  but  hers  were  sad  and  theirs  were 
jocund  —  Hogmanay,  like  all  festivals,  being  but 
a  bank  from  which  we  can  only  draw  what  we  put 
in.  So  an  hour  or  more  passed,  after  which  Tommy 
whispered  to  Elspeth :  "  Now's  the  time ;  they're 
at  it  now,"  and  each  took  a  hand  of  their  mother, 
and  she  woke  from  her  reverie  to  find  that  they 
had  pulled  her  from  her  chair  and  were  jumping 
up  and  down,  shouting,  excitedly,  "  For  Auld 
Lang  Syne,  my  dear,  for  Auld  Lang  Syne,  Auld 
Lang  Syne,  my  dear,  Auld  Lang  Syne."  She 
tried  to  sing  the  words  with  her  children,  tried  to 
dance  round  with  them,  tried  to  smile,  but 

It  was  Tommy  who  dropped  her  hand  first. 
"  Mother,"  he  cried,  "  your  face  is  wet,  you're 
greeting  sair,  and  you  said  you  had  forgot  the  way." 

"  I  mind  it  now,  man,  I  mind  it  now,"  she  said, 
standing  helplessly  in  the  middle  of  the  room. 

114 


AULD   LANG    SYNE 

Elspeth  nestled  against  her,  crying,  "  My  mother 
was  thinking  about  Thrums,  wasn't  she,  Tommy*?  " 

"  I  was  thinking  about  the  part  o't  I'm  most 
awid  to  be  in,"  the  poor  woman  said,  sinking  back 
into  her  chair. 

"  It's  the  Den,"  Tommy  told  Elspeth. 

44  It's  the  Square,"  Elspeth  told  Tommy. 

"No,  it's  Moneypenny." 

44  No,  it's  the  Commonty." 

But  it  was  none  of  these  places.  "  It's  the  ceme- 
tery," the  woman  said,  44  it's  the  hamely,  quiet 
cemetery  on  the  hillside.  Oh,  there's  mony  a 
bonny  place  in  my  nain  bonny  toon,  but  there's 
nain  so  hamely  like  as  the  cemetery."  She  sat 
shaking  in  the  chair,  and  they  thought  she  was  to 
say  no  more,  but  presently  she  rose  excitedly,  and 
with  a  vehemence  that  made  them  shrink  from 
her  she  cried :  "  I  winna  lie  in  London !  tell  Aaron 
Latta  that ;  I  winna  lie  in  London ! " 

For  a  few  more  days  she  trudged  to  her  work, 
and  after  that  she  seldom  left  her  bed  She  had 
no  longer  strength  to  coax  up  the  phlegm,  and  a 
doctor  brought  in  by  Shovel's  mother  warned  her 
that  her  days  were  near  an  end.  Then  she  wrote 
her  last  letter  to  Thrums,  Tommy  and  Elspeth 
standing  by  to  pick  up  the  pen  when  it  fell  from 
her  feeble  hand,  and  in  the  intervals  she  told  them 
that  she  was  Jean  Myles. 

44  And  if  I  die  and  Aaron  hasna  come,"  she  said, 
lie 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

44  you  maun  just  gang  to  auld  Petey  and  tell  him 
wha  you  are." 

"But  how  can  you  be  Jean  Myles?"  asked 
astounded  Tommy.  "You  ain't  a  grand  lady 
and " 

His  mother  looked  at  Elspeth.  "No'  afore 
her,"  she  besought  him ;  but  before  he  set  off  to 
post  the  letter  she  said:  "Come  canny  into  my 
bed  the  night,  when  Elspeth's  sleeping,  and  syne 
Pll  tell  you  all  there  is  to  tell  about  Jean  Myles." 

"Tell  me  now  whether  the  letter  is  to  Aaron 
Latta?" 

"It's  for  him,"  she  said,  "but  it's  no'  to  him, 
I'm  feared  he  might  burn  it  without  opening  it  if 
he  saw  my  write  on  the  cover,  so  I've  wrote  it  to 
a  friend  of  his  wha  will  read  it  to  him." 

"  And  what's  inside,  mother  *?  "  the  boy  begged, 
inquisitively.  "  It  must  be  queer  things  if  they'll 
bring  Aaron  Latta  all  the  way  from  Thrums." 

"  There's  but  little  in  it,  man,"  she  said,  pressing 
her  hand  hard  upon  her  chest.  "  It's  no  muckle 
mail  than  *  Auld  Lang  Syne,  my  dear,  for  Auld 
Lang  Syne.' " 


116 


CHAPTER  X 

TKB    FAVOURITE  OF   THB  LADIES 

THAT  night  the  excited  boy  was  wakened  by  a 
tap-tap,  as  of  someone  knocking  for  admittance, 
and  stealing  to  his  mother's  side,  he  cried,  "  Aaron 
Latta  has  come ;  hearken  to  him  chapping  at  the 
door!" 

It  was  only  the  man  through  the  wall,  but  Mrs. 
Sandys  took  Tommy  into  bed  with  her,  and  while 
Elspeth  slept,  told  him  the  story  of  her  life.  She 
coughed  feebly  now,  but  the  panting  of  the  dying 
is  a  sound  that  no  walls  can  cage,  and  the  man 
continued  to  remonstrate  at  intervals.  Tommy 
never  recalled  his  mothers  story  without  seeming, 
through  the  darkness  in  which  it  was  told,  to  hear 
Elspeth's  peaceful  breathing  and  the  angry  tap* 
tap  on  the  wall 

"  I'm  sweer  to  tell  it  to  you,"  she  began,  "but 
tell  I  maun,  for  though  it's  just  a  warning  to  you 
and  Elspeth  no'  to  be  like  them  that  brought  you 
into  the  world,  it's  all  I  have  to  leave  you.  Ay, 
and  there's  another  reason;  you  may  soon  be  among 
folk  wha  ken  but  half  the  story,  and  put  a  waur 
face  on  it  than  I  deserve." 

117 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY. 

She  had  spoken  calmly,  but  her  next  words  were 
passionate. 

"They  thought  I  was  fond  o'  him,"  she  cried; 
"  oh,  they  were  blind,  blind !  Frae  the  first  I  could 
never  thole  the  sight  o'  him. 

"  Maybe  that's  no  true,"  she  had  to  add.  "  I 
aye  kent  he  was  a  black,  but  yet  I  couldna  put 
him  out  o'  my  head ;  he  took  sudden  grips  o'  me 
like  an  evil  thought.  I  aye  ran  frae  him,  and  yet 
I  sair  doubt  that  I  went  looking  for  him  too." 

"  Was  it  Aaron  Latta  ?  "  Tommy  asked. 

"  No,  it  was  your  father.  The  first  I  ever  saw  of 
him  was  at  Cullew,  four  lang  miles  frae  Thrums. 
There  was  a  ball  after  the  market,  and  Esther  Auld 
and  me  went  to  it.  We  went  in  a  cart,  and  I  was 
wearing  a  pink  print,  wi'  a  white  bonnet,  and  blue 
ribbons  that  tied  aneath  the  chin.  I  had  a  shawl 
abune,  no  to  file  them.  There  wasna  a  more  in- 
nocent lassie  in  Thrums,  man,  no,  nor  a  happier 
one ;  for  Aaron  Latta  —  Aaron  came  half  the  way 
wi'  us,  and  he  was  hauding  my  hand  aneath  the 
shawl.  He  hadna  speired  me  at  that  time,  but  I 
just  kent. 

It  was  an  auld  custom  to  choose  a  queen  of 
beauty  at  the  ball,  but  that  night  the  men  couldna 
Jgree  wha  should  be  judge,  and  in  the  tail-end  they 
went  out  thegither  to  look  for  one,  determined  to 
mak'  judge  o'  the  first  man  they  met,  though  they 
should  have  to  tear  him  off  a  horse  and  bring  him 

118 


THE   FAVOURITE   OF   THE   LADIES 

in  by  force.  You  wouldna  believe  to  look  at  me 
now,  man,  that  I  could  have  had  any  thait  o'  being 
made  queen,  but  I  was  fell  bonny,  and  I  was  as 
keen  as  the  rest.  How  simple  we  were,  all  pre- 
tending to  one  another  that  we  didna  want  to  be 
chosen !  Esther  Auld  said  she  would  hod  ahint 
the  tent  till  a  queen  was  picked,  and  at  the  very 
time  she  said  it,  she  was  in  a  palsy,  through  no 
being  able  to  decide  whether  she  looked  better  in 
her  shell  necklace  or  wanting  it.  She  put  it  on  in 
the  end,  and  syne  when  we  heard  the  tramp  o'  the 
men,  her  mind  misgave  her,  and  she  cried :  '  For  the 
love  o'  mercy,  keep  them  out  till  I  get  it  off  again!' 
So  we  were  a'  laughing  when  they  came  in. 

"  Laddie,  it  was  your  father  and  Elspeth's  that 
they  brought  wi'  them,  and  he  was  a  stranger  to 
us,  though  we  kent  something  about  him  afore  the 
night  was  out.  He  was  finely  put  on,  wi'  a  gold 
chain,  and  a  free  w'y  of  looking  at  women,  and  if 
you  mind  o'  him  ava,  you  ken  that  he  was  fair 
and  buirdly,  wi'  a  full  face,  and  aye  a  laugh  ahint 
it.  I  tell  ye,  man,  that  when  our  een  met,  and  I 
saw  that  triumphing  laugh  ahint  his  face,  I  took 
a  fear  of  him,  as  if  I  had  guessed  the  end. 

"  For  years  and  years  after  that  night  I  dreamed 
it  ower  again,  and  aye  I  heard  mysel'  crying  to 
God  to  keep  that  man  awa'  frae  me.  But  I  doubt 
I  put  up  no  sic  prayer  at  the  time ;  his  masterful 
look  fleid  me,  and  yet  it  drew  me  against  my  will, 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMM\ 

and  I  was  trembling  wi'  pride  as  well  as  feai  when 
he  made  me  queen.  We  danced  thegither  and 
fought  thegither  a'  through  the  ball,  and  my  will 
was  no  match  for  hisf  and  the  worst  o't  was  I  had 
a  kind  o*  secret  pleasure  in  being  mastered. 

"  Man,  he  kissed  me.  Lads  had  kissed  me 
afore  that  night,  but  never  since  first  I  went  wi' 
Aaron  Latta  to  the  Cuttle  Well.  Aaron  hadna 
done  it,  but  I  was  never  to  let  none  do  it  again 
except  him,  So  when  your  father  did  it  I  struck 
him,  but  ahint  the  redness  that  came  ewer  his  face, 
I  saw  his  triumphing  laugh,  and  he  whispered  that 
he  liked  me  for  the  blow.  He  said,  *I  prefe*  the 
sweer  anes,  and  the  more  you  struggle,  my  beauty, 
the  better  pleased  I'll  ben'  Almost  ins  inmost  words 
to  me  was, '  I've  been  hearing  of  you*  Aaron,  and 
that  pleases  me  too ! '  I  tired  up  at  that  and  telJed 
him  what  I  thought  of  him,  bvt  ta  said,  '  If  you 
canna  abide  me.  wh,it  made  yon  dance  wi'  me  so 
often  ^ '  and,  oh,  laddie,  that's  a  question  that  has 
sung  in  my  head  since  syne, 

"  I've  telled  you  that  we  found  out -what  he  was, 
and  'deed  he  made  no  secret  <rf  it  Up  to  the 
time  h^  was  twal  year  auld  he  had  been  a  kent 
tare  ir  ^hat  part,  for  his  mither  was  a  Cullew  wo- 
man called  Mag  Sandys,  ay,  and  a  single  woman. 
She  was  a  hard  ane  too,  for  when  he  was  twelve 
year  auld  he  flung  out  o*  the  ho'ase  saying  he  would 
ne 'ei  come  back,  and  she  said  he  shouldna  run  awa' 

120 


THE  FAVOURITE  OF    THE   LADIES 

wf  thae  new  boots  on,  so  she  took  the  boots  off 

him  and  let  him  go, 

"  He  was  a  grown  man  when  moie  was  heard  o' 
him,  and  syne  stories  came  saying  he  was  at  Red- 
lintie,  playing  queer  games  wi'  his  father.  His 
father  was  gauger  there,  that's  exciseman,  a  Mr. 
Cray,  wha  got  his  wife  out  o'  Thrums,  and  even 
when  he  was  courting  her  (so  they  say)  had  the 
heart  to  be  ower  chief  wi'  this  other  woman.  Weel, 
Magerful  Tam,  as  he  was  called  through  being  so 
masterful,  cast  up  at  Redlintie  frae  none  kent 
where,  gey  desperate  for  siller,  but  wi'  a  black  coat 
on  his  back,  and  he  said  that  all  he  wanted  was  to 
be  owned  as  the  gauger's  son.  Mr.  Cray  said  there 
was  no  proof  that  he  was  his  son,  and  syne  the 
queer  spovt  began.  Your  father  had  noticed  he 
was  like  Mi.  Cray,  except  in  the  beard,  and  so 
he  had  his  beard  clippit  the  same,  and  he  got  haud 
o'  some  weel-kent  claethes  o'  the  gauger's  that  had 
been  presented  to  a  poor  body,  and  he  learned 
up  a*  the  gauger's  tricks  of  speech  and  walking, 
especially  a  droll  w'y  he  had  o'  taking  snuff  and 
syne  flinging  back  his  head  They  were  as  like  as 
buckies  aftei  that,  and  soon  there  was  a  town  about 
it,  for  one  day  ladies  would  find  that  they  had  been 
bowing  to  the  son  thinking  he  was  the  father,  and 
the  next  they  wouldna  speak  to  the  father,  mi  staking 
him  for  the  son ;  and  a  report  spread  to  the  head  of- 
fice o9  the  excise  that  the  gauger  of  Redlintie  spent 

121 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

his  evenings  at  a  public  house,  singing  '  The  Deil's 
awa'  wi*  the  Exciseman.'  Tarn  drank  nows  and 
nans,  and  it  ga'e  Mr,  Cray  a  turn  to  see  him  come 
rolimg  yont  the  street,  just  as  if  it  was  himsei'  in  a 
look  mg-glassu  He  was  a  sedate-living  man  now. 
but  chiefly  because  his  wife  kept  him  in  good 
control,  and  this  sight  brought  back  auld  times  so 
vive  to  him,  that  he  a  kind  of  mistook  which  ane 
he  was,  and  took  to  dropping,  forgetful-like,  into 
public-houses  again.  It  was  high  time  Tarn  should 
be  got  out  of  the  place,  and  they  did  manage  to 
bribe  him  into  leaving,  though  no  easily,  for  it 
had  been  fine  sport  to  him,  and  to  make  a  sensa- 
tion was  what  he  valued  above  all  things.  We 
heard  that  he  went  back  to  Redlintie  a  curran 
years  after,  but  both  the  gauger  and  his  wife  were 
dead,  and  I  ken  that  he  didna  trouble  the  twa 
daughters.  They  were  Miss  Ailie  and  Miss  Kitty, 
and  as  they  werena  left  as  well  off  as  was  expected 
they  came  to  Thrums,  which  had  been  their 
mother's  town,  and  started  a  school  for  the  gentry 
there.  I  dinna  doubt  but  what  it's  the  school  that 
Esther  Auld's  laddie  is  at 

"  So  after  being  long  lost  sight  o'  he  turned  up 
at  Cullew,  wi'  what  looked  to  simple  folk  a  fortune 
in  his  pouches,  and  half  a  dozen  untrue  stories 
about  how  he  made  it.  He  had  come  to  make  a 
show  o'  himsei'  afore  his  mither,  and  I  dare  say  f,a 
give  he?  some  gold,  for  he  was  aye  ready  to  give 


THE  FAVOURITE   OF   THE   LADIES 

when  he  had,  I'll  say  that  for  him;  but  she  had 
flitted  to  some  unkent  place,  and  so  he  bade  on 
some  weeks  at  the  Cullew  public.  He  caredna 
whether  the  folk  praised  01  blamed  him  so  long  as 
they  wondered  at  him,  and  queer  stories  about  his 
doings  was  aye  on  the  road  to  Thrums.  One  was 
that  he  gave  wild  suppeis  to  whaever  would  come ; 
another  that  he  went  to  the  kirk  just  for  the  glory 
of  flinging  a  sovereign  into  the  plate  wi'  a  clatter ; 
another  that  when  he  lay  sleeping  on  twa  chairs, 
gold  and  silver  dubbled  out  o'  his  trousor  pouches 
to  the  floor. 

"  There  was  an  ugly  story  too,  about  a  lassie, 
that  led  to  his  leaving  the  place  and  coming  to 
Thrums,  after  he  had  near  killed  the  Cullew  smith 
in  a  fight.  The  first  I  heard  o'  his  being  in  Thrums 
was  when  Aaron  Latta  walked  into  my  granny's 
house  and  said  there  was  a  strange  man  at  the 
Tappit  Hen  public  standing  drink  to  any  that 
would  tak',  and  boasting  that  he  had  but  to  waggle 
his  finger  to  make  me  give  Aaron  up.  I  went  wi' 
Aaron  and  looked  in  at  the  window,  but  I  kent 
wha  it  was  afore  I  looked.  If  Aaron  had  just  gone 
m  and  struck  him!  All  decent  women,  laddie, 
has  a  horror  of  being  fought  about.  I'm  no  sure 
but  what  that's  just  the  difference  atween  guid 
ones  and  ill  cnes,  but  this  man  had  a  power  ower 
me;  and  if  Aaron  had  just  struck  him!  Instead 
o'  meddling  he  turned  white,  and  I  couldna  help 

123 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

contrasting  them,  and  thinking  how  masterful  your 
father  looked.  Fine  I  kent  he  was  a  brute,  and 
yet  I  couldna  help  admiring  him  for  looking  so 
magerful. 

"  He  bade  on  at  the  Tappit  Hen,  flinging  his 
siller  about  in  the  way  that  made  him  a  king  at 
Cullew,  but  no  molesting  Miss  Ailie  and  Miss 
Kitty,  which  all  but  me  thought  was  what  he  had 
come  to  Thrums  to  do.  Aaron  and  me  was  cried 
for  the  first  time  the  Sabbath  after  he  came,  and 
the  next  Sabbath  for  the  second  time,  but  afore 
that  he  was  aye  getting  in  my  road  and  speaking 
to  me,  but  I  ran  frae  him  and  hod  frae  him  when 
I  could,  and  he  said  the  reason  I  did  that  was  be- 
cause I  kent  his  will  was  stronger  than  mine.  He 
was  aye  saying  things  that  made  me  think  he  saw 
down  to  the  bottom  oj  my  soul ;  what  I  didna 
understand  was  that  in  mastering  other  women  he 
had  been  learning  to  master  me.  Ay,  but  though 
I  thought  ower  muckle  about  him,  never  did  I 
speak  him  fair.  I  loo'ed  Aaron  wi'  all  my  heart, 
and  your  father  kent  it;  and  that,  I  doubt,  was 
what  made  him  so  keen,  for,  oh,  but  he  was  vain ! 

"And  now  we've  come  to  the  night  I'm  so 
sweer  to  speak  about.  She  was  a  good  happy 
lassie  that  went  into  the  Den  that  moonlight  night 
wi'  Aaron's  arm  round  her,  but  it  was  another 
woman  that  came  out.  We  thought  we  had  the 
Den  to  oursel's,  and  as  we  sat  on  the  Shoaging 

124 


THE   FAVOURITE   OF   THE   LADIES 

Stane  at  the  Cuttle  Well,  Aaron  wrote  wi'  a  stick 
on  the  ground  '  Jean  Latta,*  and  prigged  wi'  me 
to  look  at  it,  but  I  spread  my  hands  ower  my  face, 
and  he  didna  ken  that  I  was  keeking  at  it  through 
my  fingers  all  the  time.  We  was  so  ta'en  up  with 
oursel's  that  we  saw  nobody  coming,  and  all  at 
once  there  was  your  father  by  the  side  o'  us! 
'  You've  written  the  wrong  name,  Aaron,'  he  said, 
jeering  and  pointing  with  his  foot  at  the  letters ;  '  it 
should  be  Jean  Sandys.' 

"  Aaron  said  not  a  word,  but  I  had  a  presenti- 
ment of  ill,  and  I  cried,  '  Dinna  let  him  change 
the  name,  Aaron ! '  Your  father  had  been  to 
change  it  himsel',  but  at  that  he  had  a  new  thait, 
and  he  said,  'No,  I'll  no'  do  it;  your  brave  Aaron 
shall  do  it  for  me.' 

"  Laddie,  it  doesna  do  for  a  man  to  be  a  cow- 
ard afore  a  woman  that's  fond  o'  him.  A  woman 
will  thole  a  man's  being  anything  except  like  her- 
sel'.  When  I  was  sure  Aaron  was  a  coward  I 
stood  still  as  death,  waiting  to  ken  wha's  I  was  to  be. 

"  Aaron  did  it.  He  was  loath,  but  your  father 
crushed  him  to  the  ground,  and  said  do  it  he 
should,  and  warned  him  too  that  if  he  did  it  he 
would  lose  me,  bantering  him  and  cowing  him  and 
advising  him  no'  to  shame  me,  all  in  a  breath. 
He  kent  so  weel,  you  see,  what  was  in  my  mind, 
and  aye  there  was  that  triumphing  laugh  ahint  his 
face.  If  Aaron  had  fought  and  been  beaten,  even 

125 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

if  he  had  just  lain  there  and  let  the  man  strike 
away,  if  he  had  done  anything  except  what  he 
was  bidden,  he  would  have  won,  for  it  would  have 
broken  your  father's  power  ower  me.  But  to 
write  the  word !  It  was  like  dishonouring  me  to 
save  his  ain  skin,  and  your  father  took  good  care 
he  should  ken  it.  You've  heard  me  crying  to 
Aaron  in  my  sleep,  but  it  wasna  for  him  I  cried, 
it  was  for  his  fireside.  All  the  love  I  had  for  him, 
and  it  was  muckle,  was  skailed  forever  that  night 
at  the  Cuttle  Well.  Without  a  look  ahint  me 
away  I  went  wi'  my  master,  and  I  had  no  more  will 
to  resist  him — and  oh,  man,  man,  when  I  came  to 
mysel'  next  morning  I  wished  I  had  never  been 
born! 

"The  men  folk  saw  that  Aaron  had  shamed 
them,  and  they  werena  quite  so  set  agin  me  as 
the  women,  wha  had  guessed  the  truth,  though 
they  couldna  be  sure  o't.  Sair  I  pitied  mysel', 
and  sair  I  grat,  but  only  when  none  was  looking. 
The  mair  they  miscalled  me  the  higher  I  held  my 
head,  and  I  hung  on  your  father's  arm  as  if  I 
adored  him,  and  I  boasted  about  his  office  and 
his  clerk  in  London  till  they  believed  what  I 
didna  believe  a  word  oj  myself. 

"  But  though  I  put  sic  a  brave  face  on't,  I  was 
near  demented  in  case  he  shouldna  marry  me,  and 
he  kent  that  and  jokit  me  about  it.  Dinna  think 
I  was  fond  o'  him ;  I  hated  him  now.  And  dinna 

126 


THE  FAVOURITE   OF   THE   LADIES 

think  his  masterfulness  had  any  more  power  ower 
me;  his  power  was  broken  forever  when  I  woke 
up  that  weary  morning.  But  that  was  ower  late, 
and  to  wait  on  by  myseP  in  Thrums  for  what  might 
happen,  and  me  a  single  woman  —  I  daredna !  So 
I  flattered  at  him,  and  flattered  at  him,  till  I  got 
the  fool  side  o'  him,  and  he  married  me. 

"  My  granny  let  the  marriage  take  place  in  her 
house,  and  he  sent  in  so  muckle  meat  and  drink 
that  some  folk  was  willing  to  come.  One  came 
that  wasna  wanted.  In  the  middle  o'  the  marriage 
Aaron  Latta,  wha  had  refused  to  speak  to  any- 
body since  that  night,  walked  in  wearing  his 
blacks,  wi'  crape  on  them,  as  if  it  was  a  funeral, 
and  all  he  said  was  that  he  had  come  to  see  Jean 
Myles  coffined.  He  went  away  quietly  as  soon 
as  we  was  married,  but  the  crowd  outside  had 
fathomed  his  meaning,  and  abune  the  minister's 
words  I  could  hear  them  crying,  'Ay,  it's  mair 
like  a  burial  than  a  marriage ! ' 

"  My  heart  was  near  breaking  wi'  woe,  but,  oh, 
I  was  awid  they  shouldna  ken  it,  and  the  bravest 
thing  I  ever  did  was  to  sit  through  the  supper 
that  night,  making  muckle  o'  your  father,  looking 
fond-like  at  him,  laughing  at  his  coarse  jokes,  and 
secretly  hating  him  down  to  my  very  marrow  a* 
the  time.  The  crowd  got  word  o'  the  on-goings, 
and  they  took  a  cruel  revenge.  A  carriage  had 
been  ordered  for  nine  o'clock  to  take  us  to  Tillie- 

127 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

drum,  where  we  should  get  the  train  to  London, 
and  when  we  heard  it,  as  we  thought,  drive  up  to 
the  door,  out  we  went,  me  on  your  father's  arm 
laughing,  but  wi'  my  teeth  set.  But  Aaron's  words 
had  put  an  idea  into  their  heads,  though  he  didna 
intend  it,  and  they  had  got  out  the  hearse.  It  was 
the  hearse  they  had  brought  to  the  door  instead  of 
a  carriage. 

"  We  got  awa'  in  a  carriage  in  the  tailend,  and 
the  stanes  hitting  it  was  all  the  good  luck  flung 
after  me.  It  had  just  one  horse,  and  I  mind  how 
I  cried  to  Esther  Auld,  wha  had  been  the  first  to 
throw,  that  when  I  came  back  it  would  be  in  a 
carriage  and  pair. 

"  Ay,  I  had  pride !  In  the  carriage  your  father 
telled  me  as  a  joke  that  he  had  got  away  without 
paying  the  supper,  and  that  about  all  the  money 
he  had  now,  forby  what  was  to  pay  our  tickets  to 
London,  was  the  half-sovereign  on  his  watch-chain, 
But  I  was  determined  to  have  Thrums  think  I  had 
married  grand,  and  as  I  had  three  pound  six  on 
me,  the  savings  o'  all  my  days,  I  gave  two  pound 
of  it  to  Malcolm  Crabb,  the  driver,  unbeknown  to 
your  father,  but  pretending  it  was  frae  him,  and 
telled  him  to  pay  for  the  supper  and  the  carriage 
with  it.  He  said  it  was  far  ower  muckle,  but  I 
just  laughed,  and  said  wealthy  gentlemen  like  Mr. 
Sandys  couldna  be  bothered  to  take  back  change, 
so  Malcolm  could  keep  what  was  ower.  Malcolm 

128 


THE  FAVOURITE   OF   THE   LADIES 

was  the  man  Esther  Auld  had  just  married,  and  I 
counted  on  this  maddening  her  and  on  Malcolm's 
spreading  the  story  through  the  town.  Laddie, 
I've  kent  since  syne  what  it  is  to  be  without  bite 
or  sup,  but  I've  never  grudged  that  siller." 

The  poor  woman  had  halted  many  times  in  her 
tale,  and  she  was  glad  to  make  an  end.  "  You've 
forgotten  what  a  life  he  led  me  in  London,"  she 
said,  "and  it  could  do  you  no  good  to  hear  it, 
though  it  might  be  a  lesson  to  thae  lassies  at  the 
dancing-school  wha  think  so  much  o'  masterful 
men.  It  was  by  betting  at  horse-races  that  your 
father  made  a  living,  and  whiles  he  was  large  o* 
siller,  but  that  didna  last,  and  I  question  whether 
he  would  have  stuck  to  me  if  I  hadna  got  work. 
Well,  he's  gone,  and  the  Thrums  folk'll  soon  ken 
the  truth  about  Jean  Myles  now." 

She  paused,  and  then  cried,  with  extraordinary 
vehemence :  "  Oh,  man,  how  I  wish  I  could  keep 
it  frae  them  for  ever  and  ever ! " 

But  presently  she  was  calm  again  and  she  said : 
"  What  I've  been  telling  you,  you  can  understand 
little  oj  the  now,  but  some  of  it  will  come  back  to 
you  when  you're  a  grown  man,  and  if  you're  ma- 
gerful  and  have  some  lassie  in  your  grip,  maybe 
for  the  memory  of  her  that  bore  you,  you'll  let  the 
poor  thing  awa'." 

And  she  asked  him  to  add  this  to  his  nightly 
prayer:  "  O  God,  keep  me  from  being  a  magerful 

129 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

man ! "  and  to  teach  this  other  prayer  to  Elspeth, 
"  O  God,  whatever  is  to  be  my  fate,  may  I  nevei 
be  one  of  them  that  bow  the  knee  to  rnagerful 
men,  and  if  I  AK^S  born  like  that  and  canna  help  it, 
oh,  take  me  up  to  heaven  afore  I'm  fil't" 

The  wardrobe  was  invisible  in  the  darkness,  but 
they  t  old  still  hear  Elspeth's  breathing  as  she  slept, 
and  thf  ~xhausted  woman  listened  long  to  it,  as  if 
she  would  fain  carry  away  with  her  to  the  other 
world  the  memory  of  that  sweet  sound. 

"  If  you  gang  to  Thrums/'  she  said  at  last,  "  you 
may  hear  my  stcry  frae  some  that  winna  spare  me 
in  the  telling;  but  should  Elspeth  be  wi'  you  at 
sic  times,  dinna  answer  back;  just  slip  quietly 
away  wi?  her.  She's  so  young  that  she'll  soon  for- 
get all  about  her  life  in  London  and  all  about  me, 
and  that'll  be  best  for  her.  I  would  like  her  lassie- 
hood  to  be  bright  and  free  frae  cares,  as  if  there 
had  never  been  sic  a  woman  as  me.  But  laddie, 
oh,  my  laddie,  dirina  you  forget  me ;  you  and  me 
had  him  tc  thole  thegither,  dinna  you  forge  *.  me  ? 
Watch  owei  yom  little  sister  by  day  and  hap  her 
by  P'ght,  and  when  the  time  comes  that  a  man 
wa- -'•;;  her  —  if  he  be  magerful,  tell  her  my  ctoiy 
at  once.  But  gin  she  loves  one  that  is  her  ain  true 
love,  dinna  rub  off  the  bloom,  laddie,  with  a  woid 
about  me.  Let  her  and  him  gang  to  the  Cuttle 
Weil,  as  Aaron  and  me  went,  kenning  no  guile 
tnd  thinking  pone,  and  with  their  ^rms  lound  one 

130 


THE  FAVOURITE  OF  THE  LADIES 

anothei      -vaists.      But    when    her   wedding-day 
comes  round " 

Her  words  broke  in  a  sob  and  she  cried :  "  I  see 
them,  I  see  them  standing  up  thegither  afore  the 
minister !  Oh !  you  lad,  you  lad  that's  to  be  mar- 
ried on  my  Elspeth,  turn  your  face  and  let  me  see 
that  you're  no'  a  magerful  man ! " 

But  the  lad  did  not  turn  his  face,  and  when  she 
spoke  next  it  was  to  Tommy. 

"In  the  bottom  o'  my  kist  there's  a  little  silver 
teapot  It's  no'  real  silver,  but  it's  fell  bonny.  I 
bought  it  for  Elspeth  twa  or  three  months  back 
when  I  saw  I  couldna  last  the  winter.  I  bought  it 
to  her  for  a  marriage  present.  She's  no  to  see  it  till 
her  wedding-day  comes  round.  Syne  you're  to 
give  it  to  her,  man,  and  say  it's  with  her  mother's 
love.  Tell  her  all  about  me,  for  it  canna  harm  her 
then.  Tell  her  of  the  fool  lies  I  sent  to  Thrums, 
but  dinna  forget  what  a  bonny  place  I  thought  it  all 
the  time,  nor  how  I  stood  on  many  a  driech  night 
at  the  corner  of  that  street,  looking  so  waeful  at  the 
lighted  windows,  and  hungering  for  the  wring  of 
ft  Thrums  hand  or  the  sound  of  the  Thrums  word, 
ar-  all  the  time  the  shrewd  blasts  cutting  through 
my  thin  trails  of  claithes.  Tell  her,  man,  how 
you  and  me  spent  this  night,  and  how  I  fought  to 
keep  my  hoast  down  so  as  no*  to  waken  her 
Mind  that  whatever  I  have  been,  I  was  aye  fond 
o'  my  bairns,  and  slaved  for  them  till  I  dropped. 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

She'll  have  long  forgotten  what  I  was  like,  and 
it's  just  as  well,  but  yet  —  Look  at  me,  Tommy, 
look  long,  long,  so  as  you'll  be  able  to  call  up  my 
face  as  it  was  on  the  far- back  night  when  I  celled 
you  my  mournful  story  Na,  you  canna  see  in 
th^  dark,  but  haud  my  hand,  haud  it  tight,  so  that, 
when  you  tell  Elspeth,  you'll  mind  how  hot  it 
was,  and  the  skin  loose  on  it ;  and  put  your  hand 
on  my  cheeks,  man,  and  feel  how  wet  they  aie  wi' 
sorrowful  tears,  and  lay  it  on  my  breast,  so  that 
you  can  tell  her  how  I  was  shrunk  awa'.  And  if 
she  greets  for  her  mother  a  whiley,  let  her  greet/' 

The  sobbing  boy  hugged  his  mother,  "Dc 
you  think  I'm  an  auld  woman?"  she  said  to  him 

"  You're  gey  auld,  are  you  no'  ?  "  he  answered 
"Ay,"  she  said,  "I'm  gey  auld,  I'm  nine  and 
twenty.  I  was  seventeen  on  the  day  when  Aaron 
Latta  went  half-road  in  the  cart  wi'  me  to  Cullew, 
hauding  my  hand  aneath  my  shawl.  He  hadna 
speired  me,  but  I  just  kent." 

Tommy  remained  in  his  mother's  bed  for  the 
lest  of  the  night,  and  so  many  things  were  buzzing 
in  his  brain  that  not  for  an  hour  did  he  think  it 
tiirr  to  repeat  his  new  prayer.  At  last  he  said 
reverently :  "  O  God,  keep  me  from  being  a  ma* 
gerful  man ! "  Then  he  opened  his  eyes  to  let  God 
see  that  his  prayer  was  ended,  and  added  to  him 
self.  "But  I  think  I  would  fell  like  it" 


CHAPTER  XI 

AARON   ILATTA 

THE  Airlie  post  had  dropped  the  letters  for  out- 
lying farms  at  the  Monypenny  smithy  and  tiudged 
on.  The  smith  having  wiped  his  hand  on  his  hair, 
made  a  row  of  them,  without  looking  at  the  ad- 
dresses, on  his  window-sill,  where,  happening  to  be 
seven  in  number,  they  were  almost  a  model  of 
Monypenny,  which  is  within  hail  of  Thrums,  but 
round  the  corner  from  it,  and  so  has  ways  of  its 
own.  \V  ith  the  next  clang  en  the  anvil  the  middle 
letter  fell  flat,  and  now  the  likeness  to  Monypenny 
was  absolute. 

Again  all  the  sound  in  the  land  was  the  mel- 
ancholy sweet  kink,  kink,  kink  of  the  smith's 
hammer. 

Across  the  road  sat  Dite  Deuchars,  the  mole« 
catcher,  a  solitary  figure,  taking  his  pleasure  on 
the  dyke.  Behind  him  was  the  flour-miller's  field, 
and  beyond  it  the  Den,  of  which  only  some  tree- 
tops  were  visible.  He  looked  wearily  east  the 
road,  but  no  one  emerged  from  Thrums ;  he  looked 
wearily  west  the  road,  which  doubled  out  of  sight 
at  Aaron  Latta's  cottage,  little  more  than  a  stone's 

133 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

throw  distant.  On  the  inside  of  Aaron's  window 
an  endless  procession  seemed  to  be  passing*  but  it 
was  only  the  warping-mill  going  round.  It  was 
an  empty  day,  but  Dite,  the  accursed,  was  used  to 
them ;  nothing  ever  happened  where  he  was,  but 
many  things  as  soon  as  he  had  gone. 

He  yawned  and  looked  at  the  houses  opposite. 
They  were  all  of  one  story;  the  smith's  had  a 
rusty  plough  stowed  away  on  its  loof;  under  a 
window  stood  a  pew  and  bookboard,  bought  at  the 
roup  of  an  old  church,  and  thus  transformed  into  a 
garden- seat.  There  were  many  of  them  in  Thrums 
that  year.  All  the  doors,  except  that  of  the  smithy, 
were  shut,  until  one  of  them  blew  ajar,  when  Dite 
knew  at  once,  from  the  srnell  which  crossed  the  road, 
that  Blinder  was  in  the  bunk  pulling  the  teeth  of 
his  potatoes.  May  Ann  Irons,  the  blind  man's 
niece,  came  out  at  this  door  to  beat  the  cistern 
with  a  bass,  and  she  gave  Dite  a  wag  of  her  head. 
He  was  to  be  married  to  her  if  she  could  get  no- 
thing better, 

By  and  by  the  Painted  Lady  came  along  the 
load  She  was  a  little  woman,  brightly  dressed,  so 
fragile  that  a  collie  might  have  knocked  her  over 
with  his  tail,  and  she  had  a  beautiful  white-and* 
pink  face,  the  white  ending  of  a  sudden  in  the 
middle  of  her  neck,  where  it  met  skin  of  a  dullei 
color  As  she  tripped  along  with  mincing  gait, 
she  was  speaking  confidentially  to  herself,  but 

134 


AARON    LATTA 

when  she  saw  Dite  grinning,  she  seemed,  hiot, 
afraid,  and  then  sorry  for  herself,  and  then  she 
tried  to  carry  it  off  with  a  giggle,  cocking  her 
bead  impudently  at  him.  Even  then  she  'ioked 
childish,  and  a  faded  guilelessness,  witli  many 
pretty  airs  and.  graces,  still  lingered  about  her, 
like  innocent  birds  loath  to  be  gone  from  the  spot 
where  their  nest  has  been.  When  she  had  passed 
monotony  again  reigned,  and  Dite  crossed  to  the 
smithy  window,  though  none  of  rhe  letters  could 
be  for  him.  He  could  read  the  addresses  on  six 
of  them,  but  the  sev  enth  lay  on  its  back,  and  every 
time  he  rose  on  his  tip-toes  to  squint  down  at  it 
the  spout  pushed  his  bonnet  over  his  eyes. 

"Smith,"  he  cried  in  at  the  door,  "to  gang 
hame  afore  I  ken  wha  that  letter's  to  is  more  than 
I  can  do." 

The  smith  good-naturedly  brought  the  le^er  to 
him,  and  then  glancing  at  the  address  was,  dum- 
foundedc  "God  behears,"  he  exclaimed,  with  a 
sudden  look  at  the  distant  cemetery,  "it's  to 
Double  Dykes ! " 

Dite  also  shot  a  look  at  the  cemetery.  ''  He'll 
never  get  it,"  he  said,  with  mighty  conviction. 

The  two  men  gazed  at  the  cemetery  for  some 
time,  and  at  last  Dite  muttered,  "  Ay,  ay,  Double 
Dykes,  you  was  aye  fond  o!  your  joke  ! " 

"What  has  that  to  do  wi'  't?  "  rapped  out  the 
smith,  uncomfortably. 


SENTIMENTAL    TOMMY 

Dite  shuddered.  "Man,"  he  said,  "does  that 
letter  no  bring  Double  Dykes  back  terrible  vive 
again !  If  we  was  to  see  him  climbing  the  ceme- 
tery dyke  the  now,  and  coming  stepping  down  the 
fields  in  his  moleskin  waistcoat  wi'  the  pearl  but- 
tons   " 

Auchterlonie  stopped  him  with  a  nervous  ges- 
ture. 

"But  it  couldna  be  the  pearl  buttons,"  Dite 
added  thoughtfully,  "for  Betty  Finlayson  has  been 
wearing  them  to  the  kirk  this  four  year.  Ay,  ay, 
Double  Dykes,  that  puts  you  farther  awa'  again." 

The  smith  took  the  letter  to  a  neighbour's  house 
to  ask  the  advice  of  old  Irons,  the  blind  tailor,  who 
when  he  lost  his  sight  had  given  himself  the  name 
of  Blinder  for  bairns  to  play  with. 

"Make  your  mind  easy,  smith,"  was  Blinder's 
counsel.  "The  letter  is  meant  for  the  Painted 
Lady.  What's  Double  Dykes  ?  It's  but  the 
name  of  a  farm,  and  we  gave  it  to  Sanders  because 
he  was  the  farmer.  He's  dead,  and  them  that's 
in  the  house  now  become  Double  Dykes  in  his 
place." 

But  the  Painted  Lady  only  had  the  house,  ob- 
jected Dite;  Nether  Drumgley  was  farming  the 
land,  and  so  he  was  the  real  Double  Dykes.  True, 
she  might  have  pretended  to  her  friends  that  she 
had  the  land  also. 

She  had  no  friends,  the  smith  said,  and  since  she 

136 


AARON   LATTA 

came  to  Double  Dykes  from  no  one  could  find  ouf 
where,  though  they  knew  her  furniture  was  bought 
in  Tilliedrum,  she  had  never  got  a  letter.  Often, 
though,  as  she  passed  his  window  she  had  keeked 
sideways  at  the  letters,  as  bairns  might  look  at 
pirlys.  If  he  made  a  tinkle  with  his  hammer  at 
such  times  off  she  went  at  once,  for  she  was  as 
easily  flichtered  as  a  field  of  crows,  that  take  wing 
if  you  tap  your  pipe  on  the  loof  of  your  hand. 
It  was  true  she  had  spoken  to  him  once;  when 
he  suddenly  saw  her  standing  at  his  smiddy  door 
the  surprise  near  made  him  fall  over  his  brot.  She 
looked  so  neat  and  ladylike  that  he  gave  his  hair 
a  respectful  pull  before  he  remembered  the  kind 
of  woman  she  was. 

And  what  was  it  she  said  to  him  ?  Dite  asked 
eagerly. 

She  had  pointed  to  the  letters  on  the  window* 
sill,  and  said  she,  "  Oh,  the  dear  loves ! "  It  was  a 
queer  say,  but  she  had  a  bonny  English  word. 
The  English  word  was  no  doubt  prideful,  but  it 
melted  in  the  mouth  like  a  lick  of  sirup.  She 
offered  him  sixpence  for  a  letter,  any  letter  he 
liked,  but  of  course  he  refused  it.  Then  she 
prigged  with  him  just  to  let  her  hold  one  in  her 
hands,  for  said  she,  bairnlike,  "  I  used  to  get  one 
every  day."  It  so  happened  that  one  of  the  letters 
was  to  Mysy  Robbie;  and  Mysy  was  of  so  little  im- 
portance that  he  thought  there  would  be  no  harm 

137 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

In  letting  the  Painted  Lady  hold  her  letter,  so  he 
gave  it  to  her,  and  you  should  have  seen  her 
dawting  it  with  her  hand  and  holding  it  to  her 
breast  like  a  lassie  with  a  pigeon.  "  Isn't  it  sweet," 
she  said,  and  before  he  could  stop  her  she  kissed 
it.  She  forgot  it  was  no  letter  of  hers,  and  made 
to  open  it,  and  then  she  fell  a-trembling  and  saying 
she  durst  not  read  it,  for  you  never  knew  whether 
the  first  words  might  not  break  your  heart.  The 
envelope  was  red  where  her  lips  had  touched  it, 
and  yet  she  had  an  innocent  look  beneath  the 
paint.  When  he  took  the  letter  from  her,  though, 
she  called  him  a  low,  vulgar  fellow  for  presuming 
to  address  a  lady.  She  worked  herself  into  a  fury, 
and  said  far  worse  than  that;  a  perfect  guller  of 
clarty  language  came  pouring  out  of  her.  He  had 
heard  women  curse  many  a  time  without  turning 
a  hair,  but  he  felt  wae  when  she  did  it,  for  she  just 
spoke  it  like  a  bairn  that  had  been  in  ill  company. 

The  smith's  wife,  Suphy,  who  had  joined  the 
company,  thought  that  men  were  easily  taken  in,  es- 
pecially smiths.  She  offered,  however,  to  convey  the 
letter  to  Dou'ble  Dykes.  She  was  anxious  to  see  the 
inside  of  the  Painted  Lady's  house,  and  this  would 
be  a  good  opportunity.  She  admitted  that  she 
had  craved  to  the  east  window  of  it  before  now, 
but  that  dour  bairn  of  the  Painted  Lady's  had  seen 
her  head  and  whipped  down  the  blind. 

Unfortunate    Suphy!    she    could    not    try   the 

•38 


AARON   LATTA 

window  this  time,  as  it  was  broad  daylight,  and 
the  Painted  Lady  took  the  letter  from  her  at  the 
door.  She  returned  crestfallen,  and  for  an  hour 
nothing  happened.  The  mole-catcher  went  off 
to  the  square,  saying,  despondently,  that  nothing 
would  happen  until  he  was  round  the  corner.  No 
sooner  had  he  rounded  the  corner  than  something 
did  happen. 

A  girl  who  had  left  Double  Dykes  with  a  letter 
was  walking  quickly  toward  Monypenny.  She 
wore  a  white  pinafore  over  a  magenta  frock,  and 
no  one  could  tell  her  whether  she  was  seven  or 
eight,  for  she  was  only  the  Painted  Lady's  child. 
Some  boys,  her  natural  enemies,  were  behind; 
they  had  just  emerged  from  the  Den,  and  she 
heard  them  before  they  saw  her,  and  at  once  her 
little  heart  jumped  and  ran  off  with  her.  But  the 
halloo  that  told  her  she  was  discovered  checked 
her  running.  Her  teeth  went  into  her  underlip ; 
now  her  head  was  erect.  After  her  came  the  rab- 
ble with  a  rush,  flinging  stones  that  had  no  mark 
and  ep^hets  that  hit.  Grizel  disdained  to  look 
over  hei  shoulder.  Little  hunted  child,  where  was 
succour  to  come  from  if  she  could  not  fight  for 
herself? 

Though  under  the  torture  she  would  not  cry 
out  "  What's  a  father  ?  "  was  their  favourite  jeer, 
because  she  had  once  innocently  asked  this  ques- 
tion of  a  false  friend.  One  tried  to  snatch  the  let- 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

;er  from  her,  but  she  flashed  him  a  look  that  sent 
him  to  the  other  side  of  the  dyke,  where,  he  said, 
did  she  think  he  was  afraid  of  her?  Another 
strutted  by  her  side,  mimicking  her  in  such  divert- 
ing manner  that  presently  the  others  had  to  pick 
him  out  of  the  ditch.  Thus  Grizel  moved  on> 
ward  defiantly  until  she  reached  Monypenny, 
where  she  tossed  the  letter  in  at  the  smithy  door 
and  immediately  returned  home.  It  was  the  let- 
ter that  had  been  sent  to  her  mother,  now  sent 
back,  because  it  was  meant  for  the  dead  farmer 
after  all. 

The  smith  read  Jean  Myles's  last  letter,  with  a 
face  of  growing  gravity.  "  Dear  Double  Dykes," 
it  said,  "  I  send  you  these  few  scrapes  to  say  I  am 
dying,  and  you  and  Aaron  Latta  was  seldom  sin- 
dry,  so  I  charge  you  to  go  to  him  and  say  to  him 
*  Aaron  Latta,  it's  all  lies  Jean  Myles  wrote  to 
Thrums  about  her  grandeur,  and  her  man  died 
mony  year  back,  and  it  was  the  only  kindness  he 
ever  did  her,  and  if  she  doesna  die  quick,  her  and 
her  starving  bairns  will  be  flung  out  into  the 
streets.'  If  that  doesna  move  him,  say,  '  Aaron 
Latta,  do  you  mind  yon  day  at  Inverquharity  and 
the  cushie  doos?'  likewise,  '  Aaron  Latta,  do  you 
mind  yon  day  at  the  Kaims  of  Airlie*?  '  likewise, 
4  Aaron  Latta,  do  you  mind  that  Jean  Myles  was 
ower  heavy  for  you  to  lift  ?  Oh,  Aaron,  you  could 
lift  me  so  pitiful  easy  now.'  And  syne  says  you 

140 


AARON    LATTA 

solemnly  throe  times,  *  Aaron  Latta,  Jean  Myks  is 
lying  dying  all  alone  in  a  foreign  land;  Aaron  Latta, 
Jean  Myles  is  lying  dying  all  alone  in  a  foreign 
land;  Aaron  Latta,  Jean  Myles  is  lying  dying 
all  alone  in  a  foreign  land.'  And  if  he's  sweer  to 
come,  just  say,  'Oh,  Aaron,  man,  you  micht;  oh, 
Aaron,  oh,  Aaron,  are  you  coming?'" 

The  smith  had  often  denounced  this  woman^ 
but  he  never  said  a  word  against  her  again.  He 
stood  long  reflecting,  and  then  took  the  letter  to 
Blinder  and  read  it  to  him. 

"  She  doesna  say,  *  Oh,  Aaron  Latta,  do  you  mind 
the  Cuttle  Well?'"  was  the  blind  man's  first 
comment. 

"  She  was  thinking  about  it,"  said  Auchterlonie. 

"  Ay,  and  he's  thinking  about  it,"  said  Blinder, 
"night  and  day,  night  and  day.  What  a  toun 
there'll  be  about  that  letter,  smith ! " 

"  There  will.  But  I'm  to  take  it  to  Aaron  afore 
the  news  spreads.  He'll  never  gang  to  London 
though." 

"  I  think  he  will,  smith." 

"  I  ken  him  well." 

"  Maybe  I  ken  him  better." 

"You  canna  see  the  ugly  mark  it  left  on  his 
brow." 

"  I  can  see  the  uglier  marks  it  has  left  in  his 
breast." 

"  Well,  I'll  take  the  letter;  I  can  do  no  more." 
141 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

When  the  smith  opened  the  door  of  Aaron's 
house,  he  let  out  a  draught  of  hot  air  that  was  glad 
to  be  gone  from  the  warper's  restless  home.  The 
usual  hallan,  or  passage,  divided  the  but  from  the 
ben,  and  in  the  ben  a  great  revolving  thing,  the 
warping-rnill,  half  filled  the  room.  Between  it  and 
a  pile  of  webs  that  obscured  the  light  a  little  silent 
man  was  sitting  on  a  box  turning  a  handle.  His 
shoulders  were  almost  as  high  as  his  ears,  as  if  he 
had  been  caught  forever  in  a  storm,  and  though  he 
was  basdy  five  and  thirty,  he  had  the  tattered,  dis- 
honoured beatd  of  black  and  white  that  comes  to 
none,  till  the  glory  of  life  has  gone. 

Suddenly  the  smith  appeared  round  the  webs. 
'*  Aaion,"  he  said,  awkwardly, "  do  you  mind  Jean 
Myles?" 

The  warper  did  not  for  a  moment  take  his  eyes 
off  a,  contiivance  with  pirns  in  it  that  was  climbing 
up  and  down  the  whirring  mill 

44  She's  dead,"  he  answered. 

*  She's  dying,"  said  the  smith 

A  thread  bioke,and  Aaron  had  to  rise  to  mend  it. 

41  Stop  the  mill  and  listen,"  Auchterlonie  begged 
'am,  bat.  «.he  warper  returned  to  his  seat  ?^d  the 
D  '1  :»g]i.n  revolved* 

"  This  is  her  dying  words  to  you,"  coritiixaed  the 
smith.  "  Did  you  speak  ?  " 

"  I  didna,  but  I  wish  you  would  take  your  arm 
off  the  bait" 

142 


AARON    T.ATTA 

"  She's  loath  to  die  without  seeing  you.  Do  you 
hear,  man  ?  You  shall  listen  to  me,  I  tell  you." 

"  I  am  listening,  smith,"  the  warper  replied,  with- 
out rancour.  "  It's  but  right  that  you  should  come 
here  to  take  your  pleasure  on  a  shamed  man."  His 
calmness  gave  him  a  kind  of  dignity 

"  Did  I  ever  say  you  was  a  shamed  man, 
Aaron  1" 

"  Am  I  not  ?  "  the  warper  asked  quietly ;  and 
Auchterlonie  hung  his  head. 

Aaron  continued,  still  turning  the  handle, 
"  You're  truthful,  and  you  canna  deny  it.  Nor 
will  you  deny  that  I  shamed  you  and  every  other 
mother's  son  that  night  You  try  to  hod  it  out 
o'  pity,  smith,  but  even  as  you  look  at  me  now, 
does  the  man  in  you  no  rise  up  against  me  ?  " 

"  If  so,"  the  smith  answered  reluctantly,  "  if  so, 
it's  against  my  will." 

"  It  is  so,"  said  Aaron,  in  the  same  measured 
voice,  "  and  it's  right  that  it  should  be  so.  A  man 
may  thieve  or  debauch  or  murder,  and  yet.  no  be 
so  very  different  frae  his  fellow-men,  but  there's  on** 
thing  he  shall. not  do  without  their  wanting  to  spit 
him  out  o'  their  mouths,  and  that  is,  violate  the 
feelings  of  sex." 

The  strange  words  in  which  the  warper  described 
his  fall  had  always  an  uncomfortable  effect  on  those 
who  heard  him  use  them,  and  Auchterlonie  could 
only  answer  in  distress,  "  Maybe  that 's  what  it  is." 

H3 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

'"  That's  what  it  is.  I  have  had  twal  lang  years 
sitting  on  this  box  to  think  it  out.  I  blame  none 
but  mysel'." 

"Then  you'll  have  pity  on  Jean  in  her  sair 
need,"  said  the  smith.     He  read  slowly  the  first 
)jrt  of  the  letter,  but  Aaron  made  no  comment, 
md  the  mill  had  not  stopped  for  a  moment 

"She  says,"  the  smith  pioceeded,  doggedly  — 
"she  says  to  say  to  you,  'Aaron  Latta,  do  you 
mind  yon  day  at  Inveiquharity  and  the  cushie 
doos?'" 

Only  the  monotonous  whirr  of  the  mill  replied. 

44  She  says,  *  Aaron  Latta,  do  you  mind  that  Jean 
Myles  was  ower  heavy  for  you  to  lift?  Oh, 
Aaron,  you  could  lift  me  so  pitiful  easy  now.' " 

Another  thread  broke  and  the  warper  rose  with 
sudden  fury. 

"Now    that    you've    eased    your    conscience, 
.smith,"  he  said,  fiercely,  "make  your  feet  your 
friend." 

"  I'll  do  so,"  Auchterlonie  answered,  laying  the 
letter  on  the  webs,  "  but  I  leave  this  ahint  me." 

"  Wap  it  in  the  fire." 

"  If  that's  to  be  done,  you  do  it  yoursel'.  Aaron, 
she  treated  you  ill,  but " 

"  There's  the  door,  smith." 

The  smith  walked  away,  and  had  onyl  gone  a 
few  steps  when  he  heard  the  whirr  of  the  mill 
again.  He  went  back  to  the  door. 

144 


AARON    LATTA 

"  She's  dying,  man ! "  he  cried. 

"  Let  her  die  ! "  answered  Aaron. 

In  an  hour  the  sensational  news  was  through 
half  of  Thrums,  of  which  Monypenny  may  be  re- 
garded as  a  broken  piece,  left  behind,  like  the  dot 
of  quicksilver  in  the  tube,  to  show  how  high  the 
town  once  rose.  Some  could  only  rejoice  at  first 
in  the  down-come  of  Jean  Myles,  but  most  blamed 
the  smith  (and  himself  among  them)  for  not  tak- 
ing note  of  her  address,  so  that  Thrums  Street 
could  be  informed  of  it  and  sent  to  her  relief.  For 
Blinder  alone  believed  that  Aaron  would  be  soft* 
ened. 

"  It  was  twa  threads  the  smith  saw  him  break," 
the  blind  man  said,  "and  Aaron's  good  at  his 
work.  He'll  go  to  London,  I  tell  you." 

"You  forget,  Blinders,  that  he  was  warping 
afore  I  was  a  dozen  steps  frae  the  door," 

"Ay,  and  that  just  proves  he  hadna  burned  the 
letter,  for  he  hadna  time.  If  he  didna  do  it  at  the 
first  impulse,  he'll  no  do  it  now." 

Every  little  while  the  boys  were  sent  along  the 
r  3>ad  to  look  in  at  Aaron's  end  window  and  report 

At  seven  in  the  evening  Aaron  had  not  left  his 
box,  and  the  blind  man's  reputation  for  seeing 
farther  than  those  with  eyes  was  fallen  low. 

"  It's  a  good  sign,"  he  insisted,  nevertheless. 
"It  shows  his  mind's  troubled,  for  he  usually 
louses  at 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

By  eight  the  news  was  that  Aaron  had  left  his 
mill  and  was  sitting  staring  at  his  kitchen  fire. 

"  He's  thinking  o'  Inverquharity  and  the  cushie 
doos,"  said  Blinder. 

*4  More  likely,"  said  Dite  Deuchars,  "  he's  think- 
ing o'  the  Cuttle  WelL': 

Corp  Shiach  clattered  along  the  road  about  nine 
to  say  that  Aaron  Latta  was  putting  on  his  blacks 
as  if  for  a  journey. 

At  once  the  blind  man's  reputation  rose  on 
stilts.  It  fell  flat,  however,  betore  the  ten-o'clock 
bell  rang,  when  three  of  the  Auchterlonie  children, 
each  pulling  the  others  back  that  he  might  arrive 
first,  announced  that  Aaron  had  put  on  his  cordu- 
roys again,  and  was  back  at  the  mill. 

"That  settles  it,"  was  everyone's  good-night 
to  Blinder,  but  he  only  answered  thoughtfully, 
44  There's  a  fierce  fight  going  on,  my  billies." 

Next  morning  when  his  niece  was  shaving  the 
blind  man.  the  razor  had  to  travel  over  a  triumph- 
ant smirk  which  would  not  explain  itself  to  woman- 
kind. Blinder  being  a  man  whc  could  bide  his 
time.  The  time  came  wh^n  the  smith  looked  in 
to  say,  4t  Should  I  gang  yont  to  Aaron's  and  see  if 
he'll  give  me  the  puii  woman's  addiess^" 

*'No,  I  wouldna  advise  that,"  answered  Blinder, 
cl.evtily  concealing  his  elation,  "for  Aaron  Latta's 
awa'  to  London," 

**  What !     How  can  you  ken  ?  * 
146 


AARON   LATTA 

"  I  heaid  him  go  by  in  the  night*" 

44  It's  no  possible  ! " 

*4 1  kent  his  foot." 

"You're  sure  it  was  Aaion?*1 

Blinder  did  not  consider  the  question  worth 
answering,  his  sharpness  at  recognizing  friends  by 
rheir  tread  being  picved.  Sometimes  he  may  have 
carried  his  pretensions  too  far.  Many  granted 
that  he  could  tell  when,  a  doctor  went  by,  when  a 
lawyer,  when  a  thatcher,  when  a  herd,  and  this  is 
conceivable,  for  all  callings  have  their  walk.  But 
he  was  regarded  as  uncanny  when  he  claimed  not 
only  to  know  ministers  in  this  way,  but  to  be  able 
to  distinguish  between  the  steps  of  the  different 
denominations. 

He  had  made  no  mistake  about  the  warper, 
however.  Aaron  was  gone,  and  ten  days  elapsed 
before  he  was  again  seen  in  Thrums. 


H7 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  CHILD'S  TRAGEDY 

No  one  in  Thrums  ever  got  a  word  from  Aaron 
Latta  about  how  he  spent  those  ten  days,  and 
Tommy  and  Elspeth,  whom  he  brought  back  with 
him,  also  tried  to  be  reticent,  but  some  of  the 
women  were  too  clever  for  them.  Jean  and  Aaron 
did  not  meet  again.  Her  first  intimation  that  he 
had  come  she  got  from  Shovel,  who  said  that  a 
little  high-shouldered  man  in  black  had  been  ia- 
quiring  if  she  was  dead,  and  was  now  walking  up 
and  down  the  street,  like  one  waiting.  She  sent 
her  children  out  to  him,  but  he  would  not  come 
up.  He  had  answered  Tommy  roughly,  but  when 
Elspeth  slipped  her  hand  into  his,  he  let  it  stay 
there,  and  he  instructed  her  to  tell  Jean  Myles 
that  he  would  bury  her  in  the  Thrums  cemetery 
and  bring  up  her  bairns.  Jean  managed  once  to 
go  to  the  window  and  look  down  at  him,  and  by 
and  by  he  looked  up  and  saw  her.  They  looked 
long  at  each  other,  and  then  he  turned  away  his 
head  and  began  to  walk  up  and  down  again. 
At  Tilliedrum  the  coffin  was  put  into  a  hearse 
148 


A   CHILD'S   TRAGEDY 

And  thus  conveyed  to  Monypenny,  Aaron  and  the 
two  children  sitting  on  the  box-seat.  Someone 
said,  "Jean  Myles  boasted  that  when  she  came 
back  to  Thrums  it  would  be  in  her  carriage  and 
pair,  and  she  has  kept  her  word,"  and  the  saying 
is  still  preserved  in  that  Bible  for  week-days  of 
which  all  little  places  have  their  unwritten  copy, 
one  of  the  wisest  of  books,  but  nearly  every  text 
in  it  has  cost  a  life. 

About  a  score  of  men  put  on  their  blacks  and 
followed  the  hearse  from  the  warper's  house  to  the 
grave.  Elspeth  wanted  to  accompany  Tommy, 
but  Aaron  held  her  back,  saying,  quietly,  "  In  this 
part,  it's  only  men  that  go  to  burials,  so  you  and 
me  maun  bide  at  hame,"  and  then  she  cried,  no 
one  understood  why,  except  Tommy.  It  was  be- 
cause he  would  see  Thrums  first ;  but  he  whispered 
to  her,  "  I  promise  to  keep  my  eyes  shut  and  no 
look  once,"  and  so  faithfully  did  he  keep  his  prom- 
ise on  the  whole  that  the  smith  held  him  by  the 
hand  most  of  the  way,  under  the  impression  that 
he  was  blind 

But  he  had  opened  his  eyes  at  the  grave,  when 
a  cord  was  put  into  his  hand,  and  then  he  wept 
passionately,  and  on  his  way  back  to  Monypenny, 
whether  his  eyes  were  open  or  shut,  what  he  saw 
was  his  mother  being  shut  up  in  a  black  hole  and 
trying  for  ever  and  ever  to  get  out.  He  ran  to 
Elspeth  for  comfort,  but  in  the  meantime  she  had 

149 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

learned  from  Blinder's  niece  that  graves  are  dark 
and  cold,  and  so  he  found  her  sobbing  even  like 
himself.  Tommy  could  never  bear  to  see  Elspeth 
crying,  and  he  revealed  his  true  self  in  his  way  of 
drying  her  tears. 

"  It  will  be  so  cold  in  that  hole,"  she  sobbed, 

"  No,"  he  said,  "  it's  warm." 

"  It  will  be  dark." 

"No,  it's  clear.". 

"  She  would  like  to  get  out" 

"  No,  she  was  terrible  pleased  to  get  in." 

It  was  characteristic  of  him  that  he  soon  had 
Elspeth  happy  by  arguments  not  one  of  which  he 
believed  himself;  characteristic  also  that  his  own 
grief  was  soothed  by  the  sound  of  them.  Aaron, 
who  was  in  the  garret  preparing  their  bed,  had  told 
the  children  that  they  must  remain  indoors  to-day 
out  of  respect  to  their  mother's  memory  (to-morrow 
morning  they  could  explore  Thrums) ;  but  there 
were  many  things  in  that  kitchen  for  them  to  look 
at  and  exult  over.  It  had  no  commonplace  ceil- 
ing, the  couples,  or  rafters,  being  covered  with  the 
loose  flooring  of  a  romantic  garret,  and  in  the 
rafters  were  several  great  hooks,  from  one  oi 
which  hung  a  ham,  and  Tommy  remembered,  with 
a  thrill  which  he  communicated  to  Elspeth,  that  it 
is  the  right  of  Thrums  children  to  snip  off  the  ham 
as  much  as  they  can  remove  with  their  finger-nails 
and  roast  it  on  the  ribs  of  the  fire.  The  chief 

150 


A  CHILDS  TRAGEDY 

pieces  of  furniture  were  a  dresser,  a  corner  cup 
board  with  diamond  panes,  two  tables,  one  of  which 
stood  beneath  the  other,  but  would  have  to  come 
out  if  Aaron  tried  to  bake,  and  a  bed  with  a  door. 
These  two  did  not  know  it,  but  the  room  was  full 
of  memories  of  Jean  Myles.  The  corner  cupboard 
had  been  bought  by  Aaron  at  a  roup  because  she 
said  she  would  like  to  have  one ;  it  was  she  who 
had  chosen  the  six  cups  and  saucers  with  the  blue 
spots  on  them.  A  razor-strop,  now  hard  as  iron, 
hung  on  a  nail  on  the  wall ;  it  had  not  been  used 
since  the  last  time  Aaron  strutted  through  the  Den 
with  his  sweetheart  One  day  later  he  had  opened 
the  door  of  the  bird-cage,  which  still  stood  in  the 
window,  and  let  the  yellow  yite  go.  Many  things 
were  where  no  woman  would  have  left  them  : 
clothes  on  the  floor  with  the  nail  they  had  torn 
from  the  wall :  on  a  chair  a  tin  basin,  soapy  watei 
and  a  flannel  rag  in  it ;  horn  spoons  with  whistles 
at  the  end  of  them  were  anywhere  —  on  the  man- 
telpiece, beneath  the  bed;  there  were  drawers  that 
could  not  be  opened  because  their  handles  were 
inside.  Perhaps  the  windows  were  closed  hope- 
lessly also,  but  this  must  be  left  doubtful ;  no  one 
had  ever  tried  to  open  them. 

The  garret  where  Tommy  and  Elspeth  were  tc 
sleep  was  reached  by  a  ladder  from  the  hallan ; 
when  you  were  near  the  top  of  the  ladder  youi 
head  hit  a  trap-door  and  pushed  it  open.  At  one 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

end  of  the  garret  was  the  bed,  and  at  the  othei 
end  were  piled  sticks  for  firewood  and  curious 
dark-coloured  slabs  whose  smell  the  children  dis- 
liked until  Tommy  said,  excitedly,  "  Peat ! "  and 
then  they  sniffed  reverently. 

It  was  Tommy,  too,  who  discovered  the  tree- 
tops  of  the  Den,  and  Elspeth  seeing  him  gazing  in 
a  transport  out  at  the  window  cried,  "  What  is  it, 
Tommy?  Quick!" 

u  Promise  no  to  scream,"  he  replied,  warningly. 
"  Well,  then,  Elspeth  Sandys,  that's  where  the  Den 
is!" 

Elspeth  blinked  with  awe,  and  anon  said,  wist- 
fully, "  Tommy,  do  you  see  that  there  ?  That's 
where  the  Den  is ! " 

"  It  were  me  what  told  you,"  cried  Tommy, 
jealously. 

44  But  let  me  tell  you,  Tommy ! w 

44  Well,  then,  you  can  tell  me." 

"That  there  is  the  Den,  Tommy!" 

44  Dagont ! " 

Oh,  that  to-morrow  were  here  !  Oh,  that  Sho\e 
could  see  these  two  to-morrow ! 

Here  is  another  splendid  game,  T.  Sandys,  in 
ventor.  The  girl  goes  into  the  bed,  the  boy  shuts 
the  door  on  her,  and  imitates  the  sound  of  a  train 
in  motion.  He  opens  the  door  and  cries,  •*  Tickets, 
please."  The  girl  says,  "  What  is  the  name  of 
this  place  ?  "  The  boy  replies,  4t  It's  Thrums ! " 

152 


A   CHILD'S  TRAGEDY 

There  is  more  to  follow,  but  the  only  two  who 
have  played  the  game  always  roared  so  joyously 
at  this  point  that  they  could  get  no  farther. 

"  Oh,  to-morrow,  come  quick,  quick ! " 

"Oh,  poor  Shovel!" 

To-morrow  came,  and  with  it  two  eager  little 
figures  rose  and  gulped  their  porridge,  and  set  off 
to  see  Thrums.  They  were  dressed  in  the  black 
clothes  Aaron  Latta  had  bought  for  them  in  Lon- 
don, and  they  had  agreed  just  to  walk,  but  when 
they  reached  the  door  and  saw  the  tree-tops  of 
the  Den  they  —  they  ran.  Would  you  not  like 
to  hold  them  back  ?  It  is  a  child's  tragedy. 

They  went  first  into  the  Den,  and  the  rocks  were 
dripping  wet,  all  the  trees,  save  the  firs,  were  bare, 
and  the  mud  round  a  tiny  spring  pulled  off  one  of 
Elspeth's  boots. 

"Tommy,"  she  cried,  quaking,  "that  narsty 
puddle  can't  not  be  the  Cuttle  Well,  can  it?" 

44  No,  it  ain't,"  said  Tommy,  quickly,  but  he 
feared  it  was. 

44  It's  c-c-colder  here  than  London,"  Elspeth  said, 
shivering,  and  Tommy  was  shivering  too,  but  he 
answered, 44  I'm  —  I'm  —  I'm  warm." 

The  Den  was  strangely  small,  and  soon  they 
were  on  a  shabby  brae  where  women  in  short 
gowns  came  to  their  doors  and  men  in  night-caps 
sat  down  on  the  shafts  of  their  barrows  to  look  at 
Jean  Myles's  bairns. 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"What  does  yer  think?"  Elspeth  whispered* 
very  doubtfully. 

"They're  beauties/'  Tommy  answered,  deter- 
minedly. 

Presently  Elspeth  cried,  '*  Oh,  Tommy,  what  a 
ugly  stair !  Where  is  the  beauty  stairs  as  is  wore 
outside  for  show?" 

This  was  one  of  them  and  Tommy  knew  it. 
"  Wait  till  you  see  the  west  town  end,"  he  said 
bravely ;  "  it's  grand."  But  when  they  were  in 
the  west  town  end,  and  he  had  to  admit  it,  "  Wait 
till  you  see  the  squaie,"  he  said,  and  when  they 
were  in  the  square,  "Wait,"  he  said,  huskily,  "till 
you  see  the  town-house."  Alas,  this  was  the 
town-house  facing  them,  and  when  they  knew  it, 
he  said  hurriedly,  "  Wait  till  you  see  the  Auld 
Licht  Kirk." 

They  stood  long  in  front  of  the  Auld  Licht 
Kirk,  which  he  had  sworn  was  bigger  and  lovelier 
than  St.  Paul's,  but  —  well,  it  is  a  different  style  of 
architecture,  and  had  Elspeth  not  been  there  with 
t^ars  in  waiting,  Tommy  would  have  blubbered. 
"  It's  —  it's  littler  than  I  thoaght,"  he  said  desper- 
ately, "  but  —  the  minister,  oh,  what  a  wonderful 
big  man  he  is ! " 

"  Are  you  sure  ?  "  Elspeth  squeaked. 

"  I  swear  he  is." 

The  church  door  opened  and  a  gentleman  came 
out,  a  little  man,  boyish  in  the  back,  with  the 


A   CHILD'S   TRAGEDY 

eager  face  of  those  who  live  too  quickly.  But 
it  was  not  at  him  that  Tommy  pointed  reassur- 
ingly ;  it  was  at  the  monster  church  key,  half  of 
which  protruded  from  his  tail  pocket  and  waggled 
like  the  hilt  of  a  sword. 

Speaking  like  an  old  residenter,  Tommy  ex- 
plained that  he  had  brought  his  sister  to  see  the 
church,  "She's  ta'en  aback,"  he  said,  picking  out 
Scotch  words  carefully,  "  because  it's  littler  than 
the  London  kirks,  but  I  telled  her — I  telled  her 
that  the  preaching  is  better." 

This  seemed  to  please  the  stranger,  for  he  pat- 
ted Tommy  on  the  head  while  inquiring,  "  How 
do  you  know  that  the  preaching  is  better  ?  " 

"  Tell  him,  Elspeth,"  replied  Tommy  modestly. 

"There  ain't  nuthin'  as  Tommy  don't  know,*1 
Elspeth  explained.  "  He  knows  what  the  ministei 
is  like  too." 

**  He's  a  noble  sight,"  said  Tommy. 

"  He  can  get  anything  from  God  he  likes,"  said 
Elspeth. 

"  He's  a  terrible  big  man,"  said  Tommy. 

This  seemed  to  please  the  little  gentleman  less. 

**  Big ! "  he  exclaimed,  irritably ;  "  why  should 
he  be  big?" 

"  He  is  big,"  Elspeth  almost  screamed,  for  the 
minister  was  her  last  hope. 

w  Nonsense ! "  said  the  little  gentleman.  *  He 
is  —  well,  I  am  the  minister." 

155 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"  You ! "  roared  Tommy,  wrathfully. 

44  Oh,  oh,  oh ! "  sobbed  Elspeth. 

For  a  moment  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dishart  looked  as 
if  he  would  like  to  knock  two  little  heads  together, 
but  he  walked  away  without  doing  it 

"  Never  mind,"  Tommy  whispered  hoarsely  to 
Elspeth.  •'  Never  mind,  Elspeth,  you  have  me 
yet." 

This  consolation  seldom  failed  to  gladden  her, 
but  her  disappointment  was  so  sharp  to-day  that 
she  would  not  even  look  up. 

"Come  away  to  the  cemetery,  it's  grand,"  he 
said ;  but  still  she  would  not  be  comforted. 

"And  I'll  let  you  hold  my  hand  —  as  soon  as 
we're  past  the  houses,"  he  added. 

"  Pll  let  you  hold  it  now,"  he  said  eventually ; 
but  even  then  Elspeth  cried  dismally,  and  her  sobs 
were  hurting  him  more  than  her. 

He  knew  all  the  ways  of  getting  round  Elspeth, 
and  when  next  he  spoke  it  was  with  a  sorrowful 
dignity.  "  I  didna  think,"  he  said,  "  as  yer  wanted 
me  never  to  be  able  to  speak  again:  no,  I  didna 
think  it,  Elspeth." 

She  took  her  hands  from  her  face  and  looked  at 
him  inquiringly. 

*'  One  of  the  stories  mamma  telled  me  and 
Reddy,"  he  said,  "  were  about  a  man  what  saw 
such  a  beauty  thing  that  he  was  struck  dumb  with 
admiration.  Struck  dumb  is  never  to  be  able  to 


A   CHILD'S   TRAGEDY 

speak  again,  and  I  wish  I  had  been  struck  dumb 
when  you  wanted  it." 

"  But  I  didn't  want  it ! M  Elspeth  cried. 

"If  Thrums  had  been  one  little  bit  beautief 
than  it  is,"  he  went  on  solemnly,  "  it  would  have 
struck  me  dumb.  It  would  have  hurt  me  sore, 
but  what  about  that,  if  it  pleased  you ! " 

Then  did  Elspeth  see  what  a  wicked  girl  she 
had  been,  and  when  next  the  two  were  observed 
by  the  curious  (it  was  on  the  cemetery  road),  they 
were  once  more  looking  cheerful.  At  the  small- 
est provocation  they  exchanged  notes  of  admira- 
tion, such  as,  "  Oh,  Tommy,  what  a  bonny  barrel ! " 
or  "Oh,  Elspeth,  I  tell  yer  that's  a  dyke,  and 
there's  just  walls  in  London,"  but  sometimes  El- 
speth would  stoop  hastily,  pretending  that  she 
wanted  to  tie  her  bootlace,  but  really  to  brush 
away  a  tear,  and  there  were  moments  when  Tommy 
hung  very  limp.  Each  was  trying  to  deceive  the 
other  for  the  other's  sake,  and  one  of  them  was 
never  good  at  deception.  They  saw  through  each 
other,  yet  kept  up  the  chilly  game,  because  they 
could  think  of  nothing  better,  and  perhaps  the 
game  was  worth  playing,  for  love  invented  it. 

They  sat  down  on  their  mother's  grave.  No 
stone  was  ever  erected  to  the  memory  of  Jean 
Myles,  but  it  is  enough  for  her  that  she  lies  at 
home.  That  comfort  will  last  her  to  the  Judg- 
ment Day. 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

The  man  who  had  dug  the  grave  sent  them 
away,  and  they  wandered  to  the  hill,  and  thence 
down  the  Roods,  where  there  were  so  many  out- 
side stairs  not  put  there  for  show  that  it  was  well 
Elspeth  remembered  how  susceptible  Tommy  was 
to  being  struck  dumb.  For  her  sake  he  said, 
"They're  bonny,"  and  for  his  sake  she  replied, 
"  I'm  glad  they  ain't  bonnier." 

When  within  one  turn  of  Monypenny  they 
came  suddenly  upon  some  boys  playing  at  capey- 
dykey,  a  game  with  marbles  that  is  only  known  in 
Thrums.  There  are  thirty-five  ways  of  playing 
marbles,  but  this  is  the  best  way,  and  Elspeth 
knew  that  Tommy  was  hungering  to  look  on,  but 
without  her,  lest  he  should  be  accused  of  sweet- 
hearting.  So  she  offered  to  remain  in  the  back- 
ground. 

Was  she  sure  she  shouldn't  mind  ? 

She  said  falteringly  that  of  course  she  would 
mind  a  little,  but 

Then  Tommy  was  irritated,  and  said  he  knew 
she  would  mind,  but  if  she  just  pretended  she 
didn't  mind,  he  could  leave  her  without  feeling 
that  he  was  mean. 

So  Elspeth  affected  not  to  mind,  and  then  he 
deserted  her,  conscience  at  rest,  which  was  his  na- 
ture. But  he  should  have  remained  with  her. 
The  players  only  gave  him  the  side  of  their  eye. 
and  a  horrid  fear  grew  on  him  that  they  did  not 

158 


A   CHILD'S   TRAGEDY 

know  he  was  a  Thrums  boy  "  Dagont  ?  "  ht  cried 
to  put  them  right  on  that  point,  but  though  they 
paused  in  their  game,  it  was  only  to  laugh  at  him 
uproariously.  Let  the  historian  use  an  oath  for 
once ;  dagont,  Tommy  had  said  the  swear  in  the 
wrong  place ! 

How  fond  he  had  been  of  that  word  !  Many  a 
time  he  had  fired  it  in  the  face  of  Londoners,  and 
the  flash  had  often  blinded  them  and  always  him. 
Now  he  had  brought  it  home,  and  Thrums  would 
have  none  of  it ;  it  was  as  if  these  boys  were  jeer- 
ing at  their  own  flag  He  tottered  away  from 
them  until  he  came  to  a  trance,  or  passage,  where 
he  put  his  face  to  the  wall  and  forgot  even  Elspeth. 

He  had  not  noticed  a  girl  pass  the  mouth  of 
the  trance,  trying  not  very  successfully  to  conceal 
a  brandy-bottle  beneath  her  pinafore,  but  presently 
he  heard  shouts,  and  looking  out  he  saw  Grizel, 
the  Painted  Lady's  child,  in  the  hands  of  her  tor- 
mentors. She  was  unknown  to  him,  of  course,  but 
she  hit  back  so  courageously  that  he  watched  her 
with  interest,  until  —  until  suddenly  he  retreated 
farther  into  the  trance.  He  had  seen  Elspeth  go 
on  her  knees,  obviously  to  ask  God  to  stay  the 
hands  and  tongues  of  these  cruel  boys. 

Elspeth  had  disgraced  him,  he  felt.  He  was 
done  with  her  forever.  If  they  struck  her,  serve 
her  right. 

Struck  her!  Struck  little  Elspeth !  His  imagina 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

tion  painted  the  picture  with  one  sweep  of  its  brush. 
Take  care,  you  boys,  Tommy  is  scudding  back. 

They  had  not  molested  Elspeth  as  yet.  When 
they  saw  and  heard  her  praying,  they  had  bent  for* 
ward,  agape,  as  if  struck  suddenly  in  the  stomach 
Then  one  of  them,  Francie  Crabb,  the  golden- 
haired  son  of  Esther  Auld,  recovered  and  began  to 
knead  Grizel's  back  with  his  fists,  less  in  vicious- 
ness  than  to  show  that  the  prayer  was  futile.  Into 
this  scene  sprang  Tommy,  and  he  thought  that 
Elspeth  was  the  kneaded  one.  Had  he  taken  time 
to  reflect  he  would  probably  have  used  the  Thrums 
feint,  and  then  in  with  a  left-hander,  which  is  not 
very  efficacious  in  its  own  country;  but  being  in  a 
hurry  he  let  out  with  Shovel's  favourite,  and  down 
went  Francie  Crabb. 

"  Would  you ! "  said  Tommy,  threatening,  when 
Francie  attempted  to  rise. 

He  saw  now  that  Elspeth  was  untouched,  that 
he  had  rescued  an  unknown  girl,  and  it  cannot  be 
pretended  of  him  that  he  was  the  boy  to  squire 
all  ladies  in  distress.  In  ordinary  circumstances 
he  might  have  left  Grizel  to  her  fate,  but  having 
struck  for  her,  he  felt  that  he  would  like  to  go  on 
striking.  He  had  also  the  day's  disappointments 
to  avenge.  It  is  startling  to  reflect  that  the  little 
minister's  height,  for  instance,  put  an  extra  kick  in 
him. 

So  he  stood  stridelegs  over  Francie,  who  whim« 
160 


A   CHILD'S   TRAGEDY 

pered,  "  I  wouldna  have  struck  this  one  if  that  one 
hadna  prayed  for  me.  It  wasna  likely  I  would 
stand  that" 

"  You  shall  stand  it,"  replied  Tommy,  and  turn- 
ing to  Elspeth,  who  had  risen  from  her  knees,  he 
said :  "  Pray  away,  Elspeth." 

Elspeth  refused,  feeling  that  there  would  be 
something  wrong  in  praying  from  triumph,  and 
Tommy,  about  to  be  very  angry  with  her,  had  a 
glorious  inspiration.  *'  Pray  for  yourself,"  he  said 
to  Francie,  "  and  do  it  out  loud." 

The  other  boys  saw  that  a  novelty  promised, 
and  now  Francie  need  expect  no  aid  from  them. 
At  first  he  refused  to  pray,  but  he  succumbed  when 
Tommy  had  explained  the  consequences,  and  il- 
lustrated them. 

Tommy  dictated:  "Oh,  God,  I  am  a  sinner. 
Go  on." 

Francie  not  only  said  it,  but  looked  it 

"  And  I  pray  to  you  to  repent  me,  though  I 
ain't  worthy,"  continued  Tommy. 

"And  I  pray  to  you  to  repent  me.  though  I 
ain't  worthy,"  growled  Francie.  (It  was  the  arrival 
of  ain't  in  Thrums.) 

Tommy  considered,  and  then:  "I  thank  Thee, 
O  God,"  he  said,  "  for  telling  this  girl  —  this  lassie 

-  to  pray  for  me." 

Two  gentle  taps  helped  to  knock  this  out  of 
Francie. 

161 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Being  an  artist.  Tommy  had  kept  his  best  for 
the  end  (and  made  it  up  first).  "  And  lastly,"  he 
said,  **  I  thank  this  boy  for  thrashing  me  —  I  mean 
this  here  laddie.  Oh,  may  he  allus  be  near  to  thrash 
me  when  I  strike  this  other  lassie  again.  Amen." 

When  it  was  all  over  Tommy  looked  around 
triumphantly,  and  though  he  liked  the  expression 
on  several  faces,  Grizel's  pleased  him  best.  "  It 
ain't  no  wonder  you  would  like  to  be  me,  lassie  ! " 
he  said,  in  an  ecstasy. 

"  I  don't  want  to  be  you,  you  conceited  boy," 
retorted  the  Painted  Lady's  child  hotly,  and  her 
heat  was  the  greater  because  the  clever  little  wretch 
had  read  her  thoughts  aright  But  it  was  her  sweet 
voice  that  surprised  him. 

"  You're  English ! "  he  cried. 

•*  So  are  you,"  broke  in  a  boy  offensively,  and 
then  Tommy  said  to  Grizel  loftily,  "  Run  away ; 
I'll  not  let  none  on  them  touch  you." 

44 1  am  not  afraid  of  them,"  she  rejoined,  with 
scorn,  "  and  I  shall  not  let  you  help  me,  and  I 
won't  run."  And  run  she  did  not ;  she  walked  off 
leisurely  with  her  head  in  the  air,  and  her  dignity 
was  beautiful,  except  once  when  she  made  the 
mistake  of  turning  round  to  put  out  her  tongue. 

But,  alas!  in  the  end  someone  ran.  Tf  only 
they  had  not  called  him  "  English."  In  vain  he 
fired  a  volley  of  Scotch;  they  pretended  not  to 
understand  it.  Then  he  screamed  that  he  and 

162 


A  CHILD'S   TRAGEDY 

Shovel  could  fight  the  lot  of  them.  Who  was 
Shovel?  they  asked  derisively.  He  replied  that 
Shovel  was  a  bloke  who  could  lick  any  two  of 
them  —  and  with  one  hand  tied  behind  his  back. 

No  sooner  had  he  made  this  proud  boast  than 
he  went  white,  and  soon  two  disgraceful  tears 
rolled  down  his  cheeks.  The  boys  saw  that  for 
some  reason  unknown  his  courage  was  gone,  and 
even  Francie  Crabb  began  to  turn  up  his  sleeves 
and  spit  upon  his  hands. 

Elspeth  was  as  bewildered  as  the  others,  but 
she  slipped  her  hand  into  his  and  away  they  ran 
ingloriously,  the  foe  too  much  astounded  to  jeer. 
She  sought  to  comfort  him  by  saying  (and  it 
brought  her  a  step  nearer  womanhood),  "  You 
wasn't  feared  for  yourself,  you  wasn't;  you  was 
just  feared  they  would  hurt  me." 

But  Tommy  sobbed  in  reply,  "That  ain't  it 
I  bounced  so  much  about  the  Thrums  folk  to 
Shovel,  and  now  the  first  day  Pm  here  I  heard 
myself  bouncing  about  Shovel  to  Thrums  folk, 
and  it  were  that  what  made  me  cry.  Oh,  Elspeth, 
it's — it's  not  the  same  what  I  thought  it  would  be!" 

Nor  was  it  the  same  to  Elspeth,  so  they  sat  down 
by  the  roadside  and  cried  with  their  arms  round 
each  other,  and  any  passer-by  could  look  who  had 
the  heart  But  when  night  came,  and  they  were 
in  their  garret  bed,  Tommy  was  once  more  seeking 
to  comfort  Elspeth  with  arguments  he  disbelieved, 

'63 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

and  again  he  succeeded.     As  usual,  too,  the  make 
believe  made  him  happy  also. 

"Have  you  forgot,"  he  whispered,  "that  my 
mother  said  as  she  would  come  and  see  us  every 
night  in  our  bed  ?  If  yer  cries,  she'll  see  as  we're 
*  terrible  unhappy,  and  that  will  make  her  unhappy 


too." 


"  Oh,  Tommy,  is  she  here  now?  " 

"  Whisht !  She's  here,  but  they  don't  like  living 
ones  to  let  on  as  they  knows  it." 

Elspeth  kept  closer  to  Tommy,  and  with  their 
heads  beneath  the  blankets,  so  as  to  stifle  the  sound, 
he  explained  to  her  how  they  could  cheat  their 
mother.  When  she  understood,  he  took  the 
blankets  off  their  faces  and  said  in  the  darkness 
in  a  loud  voice  : 

"  It's  a  grand  place,  Thrums ! " 

Elspeth  replied  in  a  similar  voice,  "Ain't  the 
town-house  just  big! " 

Said  Tommy,  almost  chuckling,  "Oh,  the  bonny, 
bonny  Auld  Licht  Kirk  ! " 

Said  Elspeth,  "Oh,  the  beauty  outside  stairs!" 

Said  Tommy,  "The  minister  is  so  long!" 

Said  Elspeth,  "The  folk  is  so  kind!" 

Said  Tommy,  "  Especially  the  laddies ! " 

"  Oh,  I  is  so  happy ! "  cried  Elspeth. 

"  Me  too ! "  cried  Tommy. 

"  My  mother  would  be  so  chirpy  if  she 
jest  see  us!"  Elspeth  said,  quite  aichly. 

164 


A  CHILD'S  TRAGEDY 

"  But  she  canna ! "  replied  Tommy,  slyly  pinch- 
ing Elspeth  in  the  rib. 

Then  they  dived  beneath  the  blankets,  and  the 
whispering  was  resumed 

44  Did  she  hear,  does  yer  think  ?  "  asked  Elspeth* 

"Every  word,"  Tommy  replied.  " Elspeth, 
we've  done  bet!" 


CHAPTER  XIII 

SHOWS  HOW  TOMMY  TOOK  CARE  OF  ELSPETB 

THUS  the  first  day  passed,  and  others  followed  in 
which  women,  who  had  known  Jean  Myles,  did 
her  children  kindnesses,  but  could  not  do  all  they 
would  have  done,  for  Aaron  forbade  them  to  enter 
his  home  except  on  business  though  it  was  begging 
for  a  housewife  all  day.  Had  Elspeth  at  the  age 
of  six  now  settled  down  to  domestic  duties  she 
would  not  have  been  the  youngest  housekeeper 
ever  known  in  Thrums,  but  she  was  never  very 
good  at  doing  things,  only  at  loving  and  being 
loved,  and  the  observant  neighbours  thought  her  a 
backward  girl ;  they  forgot,  like  most  people,  that 
service  is  not  necessarily  a  handicraft  Tommy 
discovered  what  they  were  saying,  and  to  shield 
Elspeth  he  took  to  housewifery  with  the  blind 
down ;  but  Aaron,  entering  the  kitchen  unexpect- 
edly, took  the  besom  from  him,  saying : 

"It's  an  ill  thing  for  men  folk  to  ken  owei 
muckle  about  women's  work." 

"  You  do  it  yourseP,"  Tommy  argued. 

**  I  said  men  folk/'  replied  Aaron,  quietly. 
166 


TOMMY   TOOK   CARE  OF  ELSPETH 

The  children  knew  that  remarks  of  this  sort  had 
reference  to  their  mother,  of  whom  he  never  spoke 
more  directly;  indeed  he  seldom  spoke  to  them 
at  all,  and  save  when  he  was  cooking  or  giving 
the  kitchen  a  slovenly  cleaning  they  saw  little  of 
him.  Monypenny  had  predicted  that  their  pres- 
ence  must  make  a  new  man  of  him,  but  he  was 
still  unsociable  and  morose  and  sat  as  long  as  ever 
at  the  warping-mill,  of  which  he  seemed  to  have 
become  the  silent  wheel.  Tommy  and  Elspeth 
always  dropped  their  voices  when  they  spoke  of 
him,  and  sometimes  when  his  mill  stopped  he 
heard  one  of  them  say  to  the  other.  "  Whisht,  he's 
coming!"  Though  he  seldom  spoke  sharply  to 
them,  his  face  did  not  lose  its  loneliness  at  sight  of 
them.  Elspeth  was  his  favourite  (somewhat  to  the 
indignation  of  both)  ;  they  found  this  out  without 
his  telling  them  or  even  showing  it  markedly, 
and  vvhen  they  wanted  to  ask  anything  of  him  she 
was  deputed  to  do  it,  but  she  did  it  quavering, 
and  after  drawing  farther  away  from  him  instead 
of  going  nearer,  A  dreary  life  would  have  lain 
before  them  had  they  not  been  sent  to  school. 

There  were  at  this  time  three  schools  in  Thrums, 
the  chief  of  them  ruled  over  by  the  terrible  Cathro 
(called  Knuckly  when  you  were  a  street  away 
from  him).  It  was  a  famous  school,  from  which 
a  band  of  three  or  four  or  even  six  marched  every 
autumn  to  the  universities  as  determined  after  bur- 

167 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

saries  as  ever  were  Highlandmen  to  lift  cattle,  and 
for  the  same  reason,  that  they  could  not  do  with- 
out. 

A  very  different  kind  of  dominie  was  Cursing 
Ballingall,  who  had  been  dropped  at  Thrums  by  a 
travelling  circus,  and  first  became  familiar  to  the 
town  as,  carrying  two  carpet  shoes,  two  books,  a 
pillow,  and  a  saucepan,  which  were  all  his  belong- 
ings, he  wandered  from  manse  to  manse  offering 
to  write  sermons  for  the  ministers  at  circus  prices. 
That  scheme  failing,  he  was  next  seen  looking  in 
at  windows  in  search  of  a  canny  calling,  and 
eventually  he  cut  one  of  his  braces  into  a  pair  of 
tawse,  thus  with  a  single  stroke  of  the  knife 
making  himself  a  schoolmaster  and  lop-sided  for 
life.  His  fee  was  but  a  penny  a  week,  "with 
a  bit  o'  the  swine  when  your  father  kills,"  and 
sometimes  there  were  so  many  pupils  on  a 
form  that  they  could  only  rise  as  one.  During 
the  first  half  of  the  scholastic  day  Ballingall's 
shouts  and  pounces  were  for  parents  to  listen  to, 
but  after  his  dinner  of  crowdy,  which  is  raw  meal 
and  hot  water,  served  in  a  cogie,  or  wooden  bowl, 
languor  overcame  him  and  he  would  sleep,  having 
first  given  out  a  sum  in  arithmetic  and  announced 

"  The  one  as  finds  out  the  answer  first,  I'll  give 
him  his  licks." 

Last  comes  the  Hanky  School,  which  was  for 
the  genteel  and  for  the  common  who  contemplated 

168 


TOMMY    TOOK   CARE  OF  ELSPETH 

souring.     You  were  not  admitted  to  it  in  cordu 
loys  or  barefooted,  nor  did  you  pay  weekly;  no, 
your    father    called   four   times  a  year  with  the 
money  in  an  envelope.     He  was  shown  into  the 
blue-and-white  room,  and  there,  after  business  had 
been  transacted,  very  nervously  on  Miss  Ailie's 
part,  she  offered  him  his  choice  between  ginger 
wine    and    what    she    falteringly    called    wh-wh- 
whiskey.     He  partook  in  the  polite  national  man 
ner,  which  is  thus : 

44  You  will  take  something,  Mr.  Cortachy  ?  " 

44  No,  I  thank  you,  ma'am." 

44  A  little  ginger  wine  ?  " 

4*  It  agrees  ill  with  me." 

44  Then  a  little  wh-wh-whiskey  ?  " 

"  You  are  ower  kind." 

44  Then  may  I?" 

44 1  am  not  heeding." 

44  Perhaps,  though,  you  don't  take  $ M 

"  I  can  take  it  or  want  it," 

u  Is  that  enough  ?  " 

44  It  will  do  perfectly." 

44  Shall  I  fill  it  up  ?" 

"As  you  please,  ma'am." 

Miss  Ailie's  relationship  to  the  magerful  man 
may  be  remembered;  she  shuddered  to  think  of 
it  herself,  for  in  middie-age  she  retained  the  rnind 
of  a  young  girl,  but  when  duty  seemed  to  call, 
this  schoolmistress  could  be  brave,  and  she  offered 

169 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

to  give  Elspeth  her  schooling  free  of  charge.  Like 
the  other  two  hers  was  a  u  mixed  "  school,  but  she 
did  not  want  Tommy,  because  she  had  seen  him 
in  the  square  one  day,  and  there  was  a  leer  on  his 
face  that  reminded  her  of  his  father. 

Another  woman  was  less  particular.  This  was 
Mrs.  Crabb,  of  the  Tappit  Hen,  the  Esther  Auld 
whom  Jean  Myles's  letters  had  so  frequently  sent 
to  bed.  Her  Francie  was  still  a  pupil  of  Miss 
Ailie,  and  still  he  wore  the  golden  hair,  which,  de- 
spite all  advice,  she  would  not  crop.  It  was  so 
beautiful  that  no  common  boys  could  see  it  with- 
out wanting  to  give  it  a  tug  in  passing,  and  partly 
to  prevent  this,  partly  to  show  how  high  she  had 
risen  in  the  social  scale,  Esther  usually  sent  him 
to  school  under  the  charge  of  her  servant  lass. 
She  now  proposed  to  Aaron  that  this  duty  should 
devolve  on  Tommy,  and  for  the  service  she  would 
pay  his  fees  at  the  Hanky  School. 

"  We  maun  all  lend  a  hand  to  poor  Jean's 
bairns/'  she  said,  with  a  gleam  in  her  eye.  "  It 
would  have  been  well  for  her,  Aaron,  if  she  had 
married  you." 

"Is  that  all  you  have  to  say?"  asked  the 
warper,  who  had  let  her  enter  no  farther  than  the 
hallan 

"  I  would  expect  him  to  lift  Francie  ower  the 
pools  in  wet  weather ;  and  it  might  be  as  well  if 
he  called  him  Master  Francie." 

170 


TOMMY   TOOK   CARE  OF   ELSPETH 

"Is  that  all?" 

"Ay,  I  ask  no  more,  for  we  maun  all  help 
Jean's  bairns.  If  she  could  only  look  down 
Aaron,  and  see  her  little  velvets,  as  she  called  him, 
lifting  my  little  corduroys  ower  the  pools ! " 

Aaron  flung  open  the  door.  "  Munt ! "  he  said, 
and  he  looked  so  dangerous  that  she  retired  at 
once.  He  sent  Tommy  to  Ballingall's,  and  ac- 
cepted Miss  Ailie's  offer  for  Elspeth,  but  this  was 
an  impossible  arrangement,  for  it  was  known  to 
the  two  persons  primarily  concerned  that  Elspeth 
would  die  if  she  was  not  where  Tommy  was.  The 
few  boys  he  had  already  begun  to  know  were  at 
Cathro's  or  Ballingall's,  and  as  they  called  Miss 
Ailie's  a  lassie  school  he  had  no  desire  to  attend  it, 
but  where  he  was  there  also  must  Elspeth  be. 
Daily  he  escaped  from  Ballingall's  and  hid  near 
the  Dovecot,  as  Miss  Ailie's  house  was  called,  and 
every  little  while  he  gave  vent  to  Shovel's  whistle, 
so  that  Elspeth  might  know  of  his  proximity  and 
be  cheered.  Thrice  was  he  carried  back,  kicking, 
to  BallingalPs  by  urchins  sent  in  pursuit,  stern 
ministers  of  justice  on  the  first  two  occasions;  but 
on  the  third  they  made  him  an  offer?  if  he  would 
hide  in  Couthie's  hen-house  they  were  willing  to 
look  for  him  everywhere  else  for  two  hours. 

Tommy's  behaviour  seemed  beautiful  to  the  im- 
pressionable Miss  Ailie,  but  it  infuriated  Aaron, 
and  on  the  fourth  day  h<t  set  off  for  the  parish 

S?J 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

school,  meaning  to  put  the  truant  in  the  hands  of 
Cathro,  from  whom  there  was  no  escape.  Vainly 
had  Elspeth  implored  him  to  let  Tommy  come  to 
the  Dovecot,  and  vainly  apparently  was  she  trot* 
ting  at  his  side  now,  looking  up  appealingly  in  his 
face.  But  when  they  reached  the  gate  of  the  par- 
ish  school-yard  he  walked  past  it  because  she  was 
tugging  him,  and  always  when  he  seemed  about 
to  turn  she  took  his  hand  again,  and  he  seemed  to 
have  lost  the  power  to  resist  Jean  Myles's  bairn. 
So  they  came  to  the  Dovecot,  and  Miss  Ailie  gained 
a  pupil  who  had  been  meant  for  Cathro.  Tommy's 
arms  were  stronger  than  Elspeth's,  but  they  could 
not  have  done  as  much  for  him  that  day. 

Thus  did  the  two  children  enter  upon  the  gen- 
teel career,  to  the  indignation  of  the  other  boys 
and  girls  of  Monypenny,  all  of  whom  weie  com' 
moners. 


172 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  HANKY  SCHOOL 

THE  Dovecot  was  a  prim  little  cottage  standing 
back  from  the  steepest  brae  in  Thrums  and  hidden 
by  high  garden  walls,  to  the  top  of  which  another 
boy's  shoulders  were,  for  apple-lovers,  but  one  step 
up.  Jargonelle  trees  grew  against  the  house, 
stretching  their  arms  round  it  as  if  to  measure 
its  girth,  and  it  was  also  remarkable  for  several 
"dumb"  windows  with  the  most  artful  blinds 
painted  on  them.  Miss  Ailie's  fruit  was  famous, 
but  she  loved  her  flowers  best,  and  for  long  a  no- 
tice-board in  her  garden  said,  appealingly  :  *'  Per- 
sons who  come  to  steal  the  fruit  are  requested  not 
to  walk  on  the  flower-beds."  It  was  that  old 
bachelor,  Dr.  McQueen,  who  suggested  this  in- 
scription to  her,  and  she  could  never  understand 
why  he  chuckled  every  time  he  read  it. 

There  were  seven  rooms  in  the  house,  but  only 
two  were  of  public  note,  the  school-room,  which 
was  down-stairs,  and  the  blue-and-white  room 
above.  The  school-room  was  so  long  that  it 
looked  very  low  in  the  ceiling,  and  it  had  a  carpet, 

«73 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

and  on  the  walls  were  texts  as  well  as  maps.  Miss 
Ailie's  desk  was  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and 
there  was  another  desk  in  the  corner;  a  cloth  had 
been  hung  over  it,  as  one  covers  a  cage  to  send 
the  bird  to  sleep.  Perhaps  Miss  Ailie  thought 
that  a  bird  had  once  sung  there,  for  this  had  been 
the  desk  of  her  sister,  Miss  Kitty,  who  died  years 
before  Tommy  came  to  Thrums.  Dainty  Miss 
Kitty,  Miss  Kitty  with  the  roguish  curls,  it  is 
strange  to  think  that  you  are  dead,  and  that  only 
Miss  Ailie  hears  you  singing  now  at  your  desk  in 
the  corner !  Miss  Kitty  never  sang  there,  but  the 
playful  ringlets  were  once  the  bright  thing  in  the 
room,  and  Miss  Ailie  sees  them  still,  and  they  are 
a  song  to  her. 

The  pupils  had  to  bring  handkerchiefs  to  the 
Dovecot,  which  led  to  its  being  called  the  Hanky 
School,  and  in  time  these  handkerchiefs  may  be 
said  to  have  assumed  a  religious  character,  though 
their  purpose  was  merely  to  protect  Miss  Ailie's 
carpet.  She  opened  each  scholastic  day  by  read- 
ing fifteen  verses  from  the  Bible,  and  then  she 
said  sternly,  "  Hankies  f "  whereupon  her  pupils 
whipped  out  their  handkerchiefs,  spread  them  on 
the  floor  and  kneeled  on  them  while  Miss  Ailie 
repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer.  School  closed  at  four 
o'clock,  again  with  hankies. 

Only  on  great  occasions  were  the  boys  and  girls 
admitted  to  the  blue-and- white  room,  when  they 

»74 


THE   HANKY   SCHOOL 

were  given  shortbread,  but  had  to  eat  it  with  theii 
heads  flung  back  so  that  no  crumbs  should  fall 
Nearly  everything  in  this  room  was  blue  or  white, 
or  both.  There  were  white  blinds  and  blue  cur- 
tains,  a  blue  table-cover  and  a  white  crumb-cloth, 
a  white  sheepskin  with  a  blue  footstool  on  it,  blue 
chairs  dotted  with  white  buttons.  Only  white 
flowers  came  into  this  room,  where  there  were  blue 
vases  for  them,  not  a  book  was  to  be  seen  without 
a  blue  alpaca  cover.  Here  Miss  Ailie  received 
visitors  in  her  white  with  the  blue  braid,  and  en- 
rolled new  pupils  in  blue  ink  with  a  white  pen. 
Some  laughed  at  her,  others  remembered  that  she 
must  have  something  to  love  after  Miss  Kitty  died. 
Miss  Ailie  had  her  romance,  as  you  may  hear 
by  and  by,  but  you  would  not  have  thought  it  as 
she  came  forward  to  meet  you  in  the  blue-and- 
white  room,  trembling  lest  your  feet  had  brought 
in  mud,  but  too  much  a  lady  to  ask  you  to  stand 
on  a  newspaper,  as  she  would  have  liked  dearly  to 
do.  She  was  somewhat  beyond  middle-age,  and 
stoutly,  even  squarely,  built,  which  gave  her  a 
masculine  appearance ;  but  she  had  grown  so  timid 
since  Miss  Kitty's  death  that  when  she  spoke  you 
felt  that  either  her  figure  or  her  manner  must  have 
been  intended  for  someone  else.  In  conversation 
she  had  a  way  of  ending  a  sentence  in  the  middle 
which  gave  her  a  reputation  of  being  "thro'ither," 
though  an  artificial  tooth  was  the  cause.  It  was 

175 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

slightly  loose,  and  had  she  not  at  times  shut  her 
mouth  suddenly,  and  then  done  something  with 
her  tongue,  an  accident  might  have  happened. 
This  tooth  fascinated  Tommy,  and  once  when  she 
was  talking  he  cried,  excitedly,  "  Quick,  it's  com- 
ing!" whereupon  her  mouth  snapped  close,  and 
she  turned  pink  in  the  blue-and- white  room. 

Nevertheless  Tommy  became  her  favourite,  and 
as  he  had  taught  himself  to  read,  after  a  fashion, 
in  London,  where  his  lesson-books  were  chiefly 
placards  and  the  journal  subscribed  to  by  Shovel's 
father,  she  often  invited  him  after  school  hours  to 
the  blue-and-white  room,  where  he  sat  on  a  kitchen 
chair  (with  his  boots  off)  and  read  aloud,  very 
slowly,  while  Miss  Ailie  knitted.  The  volume 
was  from  the  Thrums  Book  Club,  of  which  Miss 
Ailie  was  one  of  the  twelve  members.  Each  mem- 
ber contributed  a  book  every  year,  and  as  their 
tastes  in  literature  differed,  all  sorts  of  books  came 
into  the  club,  and  there  was  one  member  who  in- 
variably gave  a  ro-ro-romance.  He  was  double- 
chinned  and  forty,  but  the  schoolmistress  called 
him  the  dashing  young  banker,  and  for  mc^hs 
she  avoided  his  dangerous  contribution.  But  al- 
ways there  came  a  black  day  when  a  desire  to  read 
the  novel  seized  her,  and  she  hurried  home  with  it 
beneath  her  rokelay.  This  year  the  dashing  banker's 
choice  was  a  lady's  novel  called  *  I  Love  My  Love 
with  an  A,"  and  it  was  a  frivolous  tale,  those  being 

176 


THE   HANKY   SCHOOL 

before  the  days  of  the  new  fiction,  with  its  grand 
discovery  that  women  have  an  equal  right  with 
men  to  grow  beards.  The  hero  had  such  a  way 
with  him  and  was  so  young  (Miss  Ailie  could  not 
stand  them  a  day  more  than  twenty)  that  the  school- 
mistress was  enraptured  and  scared  at  every  page, 
but  she  fondly  hoped  that  Tommy  did  not  under- 
stand. However,  he  discovered  one  day  what 
something  printed  thus,  "D — n,"  meant,  and  he 
immediately  said  the  word  with  such  unction  that 
Miss  Ailie  let  fall  her  knitting.  She  would  have 
ended  the  readings  then  had  not  Agatha  been  at 
that  point  in  the  arms  of  an  officer  who,  Miss 
Ailie  felt  almost  certain,  had  a  wife  in  India,  and  so 
how  could  she  rest  till  she  knew  for  certain  ?  To 
track  the  officer  by  herself  was  not  to  be  thought 
of,  to  read  without  knitting  being  such  shameless 
waste  of  time,  and  it  was  decided  to  resume  the 
readings  on  a  revised  plan :  Tommy  to  say 
"  stroke  "  in  place  of  the  "  D — ns,"  and  "  word 
we  have  no  concern  with  "  instead  of  "  Darling " 
and  "  Little  One." 

Miss  Ailie  was  not  the  only  person  at  the  Dovecot 
who  admired  Tommy.  Though  in  duty  bound, 
as  young  patriots,  to  jeer  at  him  for  having  been 
born  in  the  wrong  place,  the  pupils  of  his  own  age 
could  not  resist  the  charm  of  his  reminiscences ; 
even  Gav  Dishart,  a  son  of  the  manse,  listened  at- 
tentively to  him.  His  great  topic  was  his  birth- 

177 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

place,  and  whatever  happened  in  Thrums  he  in- 
stantly made  contemptible  by  citing  something  of 
the  same  kind,  but  on  a  larger  scale,  that  had  hap« 
pened  in  London;  he  turned  up  his  nose  almost 
farther  than  was  safe  when  they  said  Catlaw  was 
a  stiff  mountain  to  climb.  ("  Oh,  Gav,  if  you 
just  saw  the  London  mountains ! ")  Snow !  why, 
they  didn't  know  what  snow  was  in  Thrums.  If 
they  could  only  see  St.  Paul's  or  Hyde  Park  or 
Shovel !  he  couldn't  help  laughing  at  Thrums,  he 
couldn't — Larfing,  he  said  at  first,  but  in  a  short 
time  his  Scotch  was  better  than  theirs,  though  less 
unconscious.  His  English  was  better  also,  of 
course,  and  you  had  to  speak  in  a  kind  of  English 
when  inside  the  Hanky  School;  you  got  your 
revenge  at  "minutes."  On  the  whole,  Tommy 
irritated  his  fellow-pupils  a  good  deal,  but  they 
found  it  difficult  to  keep  away  from  him, 

He  also  contrived  to  enrage  the  less  genteel  boys 
of  Monypenny.  Their  leader  was  Corp  Shiach, 
three  years  Tommy's  senior,  who  had  never  been 
inside  a  school  except  once,  when  he  broke  hope- 
fully into  Ballingall's  because  of  a  stirring  rumour 
(nothing  in  it)  that  the  dominie  had  hangit  him- 
self with  his  remaining  brace ;  then  in  order  of 
merit  came  Birkie  Fleemister ;  then,  perhaps,  the 
smith's  family,  called  the  Haggerty-Taggertys, 
they  were  such  slovens.  When  school  was  over 
Tommy  frequently  stepped  out  of  his  boots  and 

178 


THE   HANKY   SCHOOL 

stockings,  so  that  he  no  longer  looked  offensively 
genteel,  and  then  Monypenny  was  willing  to  let 
him  join  in  spyo,  smuggle  bools,  kickbonnety, 
peeries,  the  preens,  suckers,  pilly,  or  whatever  game 
was  in  season,  even  to  the  baiting  of  the  Painted 
Lady,  but  they  would  not  have  Elspeth,  who 
should  have  been  content  to  play  dumps  with  the 
female  Haggerty-Taggertys,  but  could  enjoy  no 
game  of  which  Tommy  was  not  the  larger  half. 
Many  times  he  deserted  her  for  manlier  joys,  but 
though  she  was  out  of  sight  he  could  not  forget 
her  longing  face,  and  soon  he  sneaked  off  to  her ; 
he  upbraided  her,  but  he  stayed  with  her.  They 
bore  with  him  for  a  time,  but  when  they  discov- 
ered that  she  had  persuaded  him  (after  prayer)  to 
put  back  the  spug's  eggs  which  he  had  brought 
home  in  triumph,  then  they  drove  him  from  theii 
company,  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards  his  deadly 
enemy  was  the  hard-hitting  Corp  Shiach. 

Elspeth  was  not  invited  to  attend  the  readings 
of  "  I  Love  My  Love  with  an  A,"  perhaps  because 
there  were  so  many  words  in  it  that  she  had  no 
concern  with,  but  she  knew  they  ended  as  the 
eight-o'clock  bell  began  to  ring,  and  it  was  her 
custom  to  meet  Tommy  a  few  yards  from  Aaron's 
door.  Farther  she  durst  not  venture  in  the  gloam- 
ing through  fear  of  the  Painted  Lady,  for  Aaron's 
house  was  not  far  from  the  fearsome  lane  that  led 
to  Double  Dykes,  and  even  the  big  boys  who  made 

170 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

faces  at  this  woman  by  day  ran  from  her  in  the 
dusk.  Creepy  tales  were  told  of  what  happened 
to  those  on  whom  she  cast  a  blighting  eye  before 
they  could  touch  cold  iron,  and  Tommy  was  one 
of  many  who  kept  a  bit  of  cold  iron  from  the 
smithy  handy  in  his  pocket.  On  his  way  home 
from  the  readings  he  never  had  occasion  to  use  it, 
but  at  these  times  he  sometimes  met  Grizel,  who 
liked  to  do  her  shopping  in  the  evenings  when  her 
persecutors  were  more  easily  eluded,  and  he  forced 
her  to  speak  to  him.  Not  her  loneliness  appealed 
to  him,  but  that  look  of  admiration  she  had  given 
him  when  he  was  astride  of  Francie  Crabb.  For 
such  a  look  he  could  pardon  many  rebuffs ;  with- 
out it  no  praise  greatly  pleased  him;  he  was  al- 
ways on  the  outlook  for  it. 

"  I  warrant,"  he  said  to  her  one  evening, "  you 
want  to  have  some  manbody  to  take  care  of  you 
the  way  I  take  care  of  Elspeth." 

"  No,  I  don't,"  she  replied,  promptly. 

"  Would  you  no  like  somebody  to  love  you  ?  n 

"Do  you  mean  kissing?"  she  asked. 

"  There's  better  things  in  it  than  that,"  he  said, 
guardedly;  "but  if  you  want  kissing,  I  —  I  —  EN 
speth'll  kiss  you." 

"Will  she  want  to  do  it?"  inquired  Grizel,  a 
little  wistfully. 

"  I'll  make  her  do  it,"  Tommy  said. 

"  I  don't  want  her  to  do  it,"  cried  Grizel,  and  he 
180 


THE  HANKY   SCHOOL 

:ould  not  draw  another  word  from  her.  However, 
he  was  sure  she  thought  him  a  wonder,  and  when 
next  they  met  he  challenged  her  with  it. 

"  Do  you  not  now  ?  " 

"  I  won't  tell  you,"  answered  Grizel,  who  was 
never  known  to  lie. 

"  You  think  Pm  a  wonder,'*  Tommy  persisted, 
'•  but  you  dinna  want  me  to  know  you  think  it." 

Grizel  rocked  her  arms,  a  quaint  way  she  had 
when  excited,  and  she  blurted  out,  "  How  do  you 
know?" 

The  look  he  liked  had  come  back  to  her  face, 
but  he  had  no  time  to  enjoy  it,  for  just  then  El- 
speth  appeared,  and  Elspeth's  jealousy  was  easily 
aroused. 

"  I  dinna  ken  you,  lassie,"  he  said  coolly  to 
Grizel,  and  left  her  stamping  her  foot  at  him.  She 
decided  never  to  speak  to  Tommy  again,  but  the 
next  time  they  met  he  took  her  into  the  Den  and 
taught  her  how  to  fight. 

It  is  painful  to  have  to  tell  that  Miss  Ailie  was 
the  person  who  provided  him  with  the  opportunity. 
In  the  readings  they  arrived  one  evening  at  the 
->cene  in  the  conservatory,  which  has  not  a  single 
Stroke  in  it,  but  is  so  full  of  Words  We  have  no 
Concern  with  that  Tommy  reeled  home  blinking, 
and  next  day  so  disgracefully  did  he  flounder  in 
his  lessons  that  the  gentle  schoolmistress  cast  up 
her  arms  in  despair. 

181 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"I  don't  know  what  to  say  to  you,"  she  ex- 
claimed. 

"  Fine  I  know  what  you  want  to  say,"  he  re- 
torted, and  unfortunately  she  asked,  "  What  ?  " 

"  Stroke ! "  he  replied,  leering  horridly. 

"  I  Love  My  Love  with  an  A  "  was  returned  to 
the  club  forthwith  (whether  he  really  did  have  a 
wife  in  India  Miss  Ailie  never  knew)  and  "  Judd 
on  the  Shorter  Catechism "  took  its  place.  But 
mark  the  result.  The  readings  ended  at  a  quarter 
to  eight  now,  at  twenty  to  eight,  at  half-past  seven, 
and  so  Tommy  could  loiter  on  the  way  home 
without  arousing  Elspeth's  suspicion.  One  even- 
ing he  saw  Grizel  cutting  her  way  through  the 
Haggerty-Taggerty  group,  and  he  offered  to  come 
to  her  aid  if  she  would  say  "  Help  me."  But  she 
refused. 

When,  however,  the  Haggerty-Taggertys  were 
gone  she  condescended  to  say,  "  I  shall  never, 
never  ask  you  to  help  me,  but  —  if  you  like  — • 
you  can  show  me  how  to  hit  without  biting  my 
tongue." 

44  I'll  learn  you  Shovel's  curly  ones,"  replied 
Tommy,  cordially,  and  he  adjourned  with  her  to 
the  Den  for  that  purpose.  He  said  he  chose  the 
Den  so  that  Corp  Shiach  and  the  others  might 
not  interrupt  them,  but  it  was  Elspeth  he  was 
thinking  of. 

"  You  are  like  Miss  Ailie  with  her  cane  when 
182 


THE   HANKY   SCHOOL 

she  is  pandying,"  he  told  Grizel.  "You  begin 
well,  but  you  slacken  just  when  you  are  going  to 
hit." 

"  It  is  because  my  hand  opens,"  Grizel  said. 

"And  then  it  ends  in  a  shove,"  said  her  mentoi\ 
severely.  "You  should  close  your  fists  like  this, 
with  the  thumbs  inside,  and  then  play  dab,  this 
way,  that  way,  yon  way.  That's  what  Shovel  calls, 
'  You  want  it,  take  it,  you've  got  it. ' " 

Thus  did  the  hunted  girl  get  her  first  lesson  in 
scientific  warfare  in  the  Den,  and  neither  she  nor 
Tommy  saw  the  pathos  of  it.  Other  lessons  foU 
lowed,  and  during  the  rests  Grizel  told  Tommy 
all  that  she  knew  about  herself.  He  had  won  hei 
confidence  at  last  by  —  by  swearing  dagont  that 
he  was  English  also. 


183 


CHAPTER  XV 

fHE   MAN   WHO   NEVER   CAME 

"  Is  it  true  that  your  mother's  a  bonny  swearer  ? J' 

Tommy  wanted  to  find  out  all  about  the  Painted 
Lady,  and  the  best  way  was  to  ask. 

"She  does  not  always  swear,"  Grizel  said 
eagerly.  "  She  sometimes  says  sweet,  sweet 
things." 

"  What  kind  of  things  ?  " 

"  I  won't  tell  you." 

"  Tell  me  one." 

"Well,  then, 'Beloved.'" 

44  Word  We  have  no  Concern  with,"  murmured 
Tommy.  He  was  shocked,  but  still  curious. 
"  Does  she  say  *  Beloved '  to  you  ?  "  he  inquired. 

"No,  she  says  it  to  him." 

"  Him  !  Wha  is  he  <?  "  Tommy  thought  he 
was  at  the  beginning  of  a  discovery,  but  she  an- 
swered, uncomfortably : 

"  I  don't  know." 

"But  you've  seen  him?" 

"  No,  he  —  he  is  not  there." 

"  Not  there !  How  can  she  speak  to  him  if  he's 
no  there  ?  " 

184. 


THE  MAN   WHO  NEVER  CAME 

"  She  thinks  he  is  there.  He  —  he  comes  on  a 
horse." 

"  What  is  the  horse  like  ?  " 

"  There  is  no  horse." 

"  But  you  said " 

"  She  just  thinks  there  is  a  horse.  She  hears  it" 

•'  Do  you  ever  hear  it?  " 

"No." 

The  girl  was  looking  imploringly  into  Tommy's 
face  as  if  begging  it  to  say  that  these  things  need 
not  terrify  her,  but  what  he  wanted  was  information. 

"  What  does  the  Painted  Lady  do,"  he  asked, 
"  when  she  thinks  she  hears  the  horse  ?  " 

"  She  blows  kisses,  and  then  —  then  she  goes 
to  the  Den." 

"What  to  do?" 

"  She  walks  up  and  down  the  Den,  talking  to 
the  man." 

"  And  him  no  there  ?  "  cried  Tommy,  scared. 

"  No,  there  is  no  one  there." 

"  And  syne  what  do  you  do  ?  * 

"  I  won't  tell  you." 

Tommy  reflected,  and  then  he  said, "  She's  daft." 

"  She  is  not  always  daft,"  cried  Grizel.  "  There 
are  whole  weeks  when  she  is  just  sweet." 

"  Then  what  do  you  make  of  her  being  so  queer 
in  the  Den?" 

"  I  am  not  sure,  but  I  think  —  I  think  there  was 
once  a  place  like  the  Den  at  her  own  home  in 

185 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

England,  where  she  used  to  meet  the  man  long 
ago,  and  sometimes  she  forgets  that  it  is  not  long 
ago  now." 

"  I  wonder  wha  the  man  was  ?  " 

"  I  think  he  was  my  father." 

"  I  thought  you  didna  ken  what  a  father  was  *?  " 

"  I  know  now.     I  think  my  father  was  a  Scots- 


man." 


"  What  makes  you  think  that?  " 

"  I  heard  a  Thrums  woman  say  it  would  account 
for  my  being  called  Grizel,  and  I  think  we  came 
to  Scotland  to  look  for  him,  but  it  is  so  long,  long 
ago." 

"How  long ?" 

"  I  don't  know.  We  have  lived  here  four  years, 
but  we  were  looking  for  him  before  that.  It  was 
not  in  this  part  of  Scotland  we  looked  for  him. 
We  gave  up  looking  for  him  before  we  came 
here." 

"  What  made  the  Painted  Lady  take  a  house 
here,  then?" 

"  I  think  it  was  because  the  Den  is  so  like  the 
place  she  used  to  meet  him  in  long  ago." 

"  What  was  his  name  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know." 

"Does  the  Painted  Lady  no  tell  you  about 
yoursel"?" 

"  No,  she  is  angry  if  I  ask." 

"Her  name  is  Mary,  I've  heard?" 
186 


THE  MAN   WHO  NEVER  CAME 

"Mary  Gray  is  her  name,  but  —  but  I  don't 
think  it  is  her  real  name." 

44  How,  does  she  no  use  her  real  name  ?  " 

"  Because  she  wants  her  own  mamma  to  think 
she  is  dead." 

44  What  makes  her  want  that  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  sure,  but  I  think  it  is  because  there 
is  me.  I  think  it  was  naughty  of  me  to  be  born 
Can  you  help  being  born  *?  " 

Tommy  would  have  liked  to  tell  her  about 
Reddy,  but  forbore,  because  he  still  believed  that 
he  had  acted  criminally  in  that  affair,  and  so  for 
the  time  being  the  inquisition  ended.  But  though 
he  had  already  discovered  all  that  Grizel  knew 
about  her  mother  and  nearly  all  that  curious 
Thrums  ever  ferreted  out,  he  returned  to  the  sub- 
ject at  the  next  meeting  in  the  Den. 

44  Where  does  the  Painted  Lady  get  her  money?'* 

44  Oh,"  said  Grizel, 44  that  is  easy.  She  just  goes 
into  that  house  called  the  bank,  and  asks  for  some, 
and  they  give  her  as  much  as  she  likes." 

44  Ay,  I've  heard  that,  but " 

The  remainder  of  the  question  was  never  ut- 
tered. Instead, 

44  Hod  ahint  a  tree ! "  cried  Tommy,  hastily,  and 
he  got  behind  one  himself;  but  he  was  too  late ; 
Elspeth  was  upon  them ;  she  had  caught  them  to* 
gether  at  last 

Tommy  showed  great  cunning.     M  Pretend  you 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

have  eggs  in  your  hand,"  he  whispered  to  Grizel* 
and  then,  in  a  loud  voice,  he  said :  "  Think  shame 
of  yourseP,  lassie,  for  harrying  birds'  nests.  It's  a 
good  thing  I  saw  you,  and  brought  you  here  to 
force  you  to  put  them  back.  Is  that  you,  Elspeth  ? 
I  catched  this  limmer  wi'  eggs  in  her  hands  (and 
the  poor  birds  sic  bonny  singers,  too !),  and  so  I 
was  forcing  her  to " 

But  it  would  not  do.  Grize)  was  ablaze  with 
indignation.  "  You  are  a  horrid  story-teller,"  she 
said,  '*  and  if  I  had  known  you  were  ashamed  of 
being  seen  with  me,  I  should  never  have  spoken 
to  you.  Take  him,"  she  cried,  giving  Tommy  a 
push  toward  Elspeth,  "I  don't  want  the  mean 
little  story-teller." 

"  He's  not  mean ! "  retorted  Elspeth. 

44  Nor  yet  little ! "  roared  Tommy. 

"Yes,  he  is,"  insisted  Grizel,  "and  I  was  not 
harrying  nests.  He  came  with  me  here  because 
he  wanted  to." 

"Just  for  the  once,"  he  said,  hastily. 

44  This  is  the  sixth  time,"  said  Grizel,  and  then 
she  marched  out  of  the  Den.  Tommy  and  El 
speth  followed  slowly,  and  not  a  word  did  either 
say  until  they  were  in  front  of  Aaron's  house. 
Then  by  the  light  in  the  window  Tommy  saw  that 
Elspeth  was  crying  softly,  and  he  felt  miserable. 

44 1  was  just  teaching  her  to  fight,"  he  said 
humbly. 


THE  MAN   WHO   NEVER  CAME 

"You  looked  like  it!"  she  replied,  with  the 
scorn  that  comes  occasionally  to  the  sweetest  lady. 

He  tried  to  comfort  her  in  various  tender  ways, 
but  none  of  them  sufficed  this  time.  "  You'll 
marry  her  as  soon  as  you're  a  man,"  she  insisted, 
and  she  would  not  let  this  tragic  picture  go.  It 
was  a  case  for  his  biggest  efforts,  and  he  opened 
his  mouth  to  threaten  instant  self-destruction  un- 
less she  became  happy  at  once.  But  he  had 
threatened  this  too  frequently  of  late,  even  shown 
himself  drawing  the  knife  across  his  throat. 

As  usual  the  right  idea  came  to  him  at  the  right 
moment.  •*  If  you  just  kent  how  I  did  it  for  your 
sake,"  he  said,  with  gentle  dignity,  "you  wouldna 
blame  me ;  you  would  think  me  noble." 

She  would  not  help  him  with  a  question,  and 
after  waiting  for  it  he  proceeded.  "  If  you  just 
kent  wha  she  is !  And  I  thought  she  was  dead ! 
What  a  start  it  gave  me  when  I  found  out  it  was 
her!" 

"  Wha  is  she  ?  "  cried  Elspeth,  with  a  sudden 
shiver. 

"I  was  trying  to  keep  it  frae  you,"  replied 
Tommy,  sadly. 

She  seized  his  arm.  **  Is  it  Reddy  ?  "  she  gasped, 
for  the  story  of  Reddy  had  been  a  terror  to  her  all 
her  days. 

"  She  doesna  ken  I  was  the  laddie  that  diddled 
her  in  London,"  he  said, "  and  I  promise  you  never 

189 


SENTIMENTAL    TOMMY 

to  let  on,  Elspeth.  I  —  I  just  went  to  the  Den 
with  her  to  say  things  that  would  put  her  off  the 
scent.  If  I  hadna  done  that  she  might  have  found 
out  and  ta'en  your  place  here  and  tried  to  pack  you 
off  to  the  Painted  Lady's." 

Elspeth  stared  at  him,  the  other  grief  already 
forgotten,  and  he  thought  he  was  getting  on  excel- 
lently, when  she  cried  with  passion,  "  I  don't  be 
lieve  as  it  is  Reddie! "  and  ran  into  the  house. 

41  Dinna  believe  it,  then ! "  disappointed  Tommy 
shouted,  and  now  he  was  in  such  a  rage  with  him- 
self that  his  heart  hardened  against  her.  He 
sought  the  company  of  old  Blinder. 

Unfortunately  Elspeth  had  believed  it,  and  her 
woe  was  the  more  pitiful  because  she  saw  at  once, 
what  had  never  struck  Tommy,  that  it  would  be 
Bricked  to  keep  Grizel  out  of  her  rights.  "  I'll  no 
win  to  Heaven  now,"  she  said,  despairingly,  to 
herself,  for  to  offer  to  change  places  with  Grizel 
was  beyond  her  courage,  and  she  tried  some  child- 
ish ways  of  getting  round  God,  such  as  going  on 
her  knees  and  saying,  "  I'm  so  little,  and  I  hinna  no 
mother ! "  That  was  not  a  bad  way. 

Another  way  was  to  give  Grizel  everything  she 
had,  except  Tommy.  She  collected  all  her  trea 
sures,  the  bottle  with  the  brass  top  that  she  had 
got  from  Shovel's  old  girl,  the  "  housewife  "  that 
vas  a  present  fton;  Miss  Ailie,  the  teetotum,  the 
oretty  buttons  Tommy  had  won  for  her  at  the 

too 


THE   MAN    WHO   NEVER   CAME 

game  of  buttony,  the  witchy  marble,  the  twopence 
she  had  already  saved  for  the  Muckley.  these  and 
some  other  precious  trifles  she  made  a  little  bundle 
of  and  set  off  for  Double  Dykes  with  them,  in- 
tending to  leave  them  at  the  door.  This  was  El- 
speth,  who  in  ordinary  circumstances  would  not 
have  ventured  near  that  mysterious  dwelling  even 
in  daylight  and  in  Tommy's  company.  There 
was  no  room  for  vulgar  fear  in  her  bursting  little 
heart  to-night. 

Tommy  went  home  anon,  meaning  to  be  what- 
ever kind  of  boy  she  seemed  most  in  need  of,  but 
she  was  not  in  the  house,  she  was  not  in  the  gar- 
den ;  he  called  hei  name,  and  it  was  only  Birkie 
Fleemister,  mimicking  her,  who  answered,  "  Oh, 
Tommy,  come  to  me ! "  But  Birkie  had  news  for 
him. 

44  Sure  as  death,"  he  said  in  some  awe,  "  I  saw 
Elspeth  ganging  yont  the  double  dykes,  and  I 
cried  to  her  that  the  Painted  Lady  would  do  her 
a  mischief,  but  she  just  ran  on." 

Elspeth  in  the  double  dykes — alone — and  at 
night!  Oh,  how  Tommy  would  have  liked  to 
strike  himself  now !  She  must  have  believed  his 
wicked  lie  after  all,  and  being  so  religious  she  had 
gone  to—  He  gave  himself  no  time  to  finish  the 
thought  The  vital  thing  was  that  she  was  in 
peril,  he  seemed  to  hear  her  calling  to  him,  "  Oh, 
Tommy>  come  quick !  oh,  Tommy,  oh,  Tommy!*' 

1Q1 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

and  in  an  agony  of  apprehension  he  ran  after  her 
But  by  the  time  he  got  to  the  beginning  of  the 
double  dykes  he  knew  that  she  must  be  at  the 
end  of  them,  and  in  the  Painted  Lady's  maw,  un- 
less their  repute  by  night  had  blown  her  back 
He  paused  on  the  Coffin  Brig,  which  is  one  long 
narrow  stone ;  and  along  the  funnel  of  the  double 
dyk  es  he  sent  the  lonely  whisper,  "  Elspeth,  are 
you  there  ? "  He  tried  to  shout  it,  but  no  boy 
could  shout  there  after  nightfall  in  the  Painted 
Lady's  time,  and  when  the  words  had  travelled 
only  a  little  way  along  the  double  dykes,  they 
came  whining  back  to  him,  like  a  dog  despatched 
on  uncanny  work.  He  heard  no  other  sound  save 
the  burn  stealing  on  tiptoe  from  an  evil  place, 
and  the  uneasy  rustling  of  tree-tops,  and  his  own 
breathing. 

The  Coffin  Brig  remains,  but  the  double  dykes 
have  fallen  bit  by  bit  into  the  burn,  and  the  path 
they  made  safe  is  again  as  naked  as  when  the 
Kingoldrum  Jacobites  filed  along  it,  and  sweei 
they  were,  to  the  support  of  the  Pretender.  It 
traverses  a  ridge  and  is  streaked  with  slippery 
beech- roots  which  like  to  fling  you  off  your  feet, 
en  the  one  side  into  a  black  burn  twenty  feet  be- 
low, on  the  other  down  a  pleasant  slope.  The 
double  dykes  were  built  by  a  farmer  fond  of  his 
dram,  to  stop  the  tongue  of  a  water-kelpie  which 
lived  in  a  pool  below  and  gave  him  a  turn  every 


THE   MAN   WHO   NEVER  CAME 

night  he  staggered  home  by  shouting  "  Drunk 
again,  Peewitbrae  !  "  and  announcing,  with  a 
smack  of  the  lips,  that  it  had  a  bed  ready  for  him 
in  the  burn.  So  Peewitbrae  built  two  parallel 
dykes  two  feet  apart  and  two  feet  high,  between 
which  he  could  walk  home  like  a  straight  man. 
His  cunning  took  the  heart  out  of  the  brute,  and 
water-kelpies  have  not  been  seen  near  Thrums 
since  about  that  time. 

By  day  even  girls  played  at  palaulays  here,  and 
it  was  a  favourite  resort  of  boys,  who  knew  that  you 
were  a  man  when  you  could  stand  on  both  dykes 
at  once.  They  also  stripped  boldly  to  the  skin 
and  then  looked  doubtfully  at  the  water.  But  at 
night !  To  test  your  nerves  you  walked  alone 
between  the  double  dykes,  and  the  popular  prac- 
tice was  to  start  off  whistling,  which  keeps  up  the 
courage.  At  the  point  where  you  turned  to  run 
back  (the  Painted  Lady  after  you,  or  so  you 
thought)  you  dropped  a  marked  stone,  which  told 
next  day  how  far  you  had  ventured.  Corp  Shiach 
long  held  the  championship,  and  his  stone  was  os- 
tentatiously fixed  in  one  of  the  dykes  with  lime. 
Tommy  had  suffered  at  his  hands  for  saying  that 
Shovel's  mark  was  thirty  yards  farther  on. 

With  head  bent  to  the  level  of  the  dykes,  though 
it  was  almost  a  mirk  night  beneath  the  trees,  and 
one  arm  outstretched  before  him  straight  as  an 
elvint,  Tommy  faced  this  fearful  passage,  some- 

193 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

rimes  stopping  to  touch  cold  iron,  but  on  the 
whole  hanging  back  little,  for  Elspeth  was  in  peril 
Soon  he  reached  the  paling  that  was  not  needed  to 
keep  boys  out  of  the  Painted  Lady's  garden,  one 
of  the  prettiest  and  best  tended  flower-gardens  in 
Thrums,  and  crawling  through  where  some  spars 
had  fallen,  he  approached  the  door  as  noiseless  as 
an  Indian  brave  after  scalps.  There  he  crouched, 
with  a  heart  that  was  going  like  a  shuttle  on  a 
loom,  and  listened  for  Elspeth's  voice. 

On  a  night  he  had  come  nearly  as  far  as  this  be- 
fore, but  in  the  tail  of  big  fellows  with  a  turnip  lan- 
tern. Into  the  wood-work  of  the  east  window  they 
had  thrust  a  pin,  to  which  a  button  was  tied,  and 
the  button  was  also  attached  to  a  long  string.  They 
hunkered  afar  off  and  pulled  this  string,  and  then 
the  button  tapped  the  death-rap  on  the  window, 
and  the  sport  was  successful,  for  the  Painted  Lady 
screamed.  But  suddenly  the  door  opened  and 
they  were  put  to  flight  by  the  fierce  barking  of  a 
dog.  One  said  that  the  brute  nabbed  him  in  the 
leg,  another  saw  the  vive  tongue  of  it,  a  third 
played  lick  at  it  with  the  lantern ;  this  was  before 
they  discovered  that  the  dog  had  been  Grizel  imi 
tating  one,  brave  Grizel,  always  ready  to  protect  her 
mother,  and  never  allowed  to  cherish  the  childish 
lears  that  were  hers  by  birthright 

Tommy  could  not  hear  a  sound  from  within, 
he  had  startling  proof  that  Elspeth  was  near 

94 


THE   MAN    WHO  NEVER  CAME 

His  foot  struck  against  something  at  the  door,  and. 
stooping,  he  saw  that  it  was  a  little  bundle  of  the 
treasures  she  valued  most  So  she  had  indeed 
come  to  stay  with  the  Painted  Lady  if  Grizel 
proved  merciless !  Oh,  what  a  black  he  had  been ! 

Though  originally  a  farm-house,  the  cottage  was 
no  larger  than  Aaron's,  and  of  its  two  front  win- 
dows only  one  showed  a  light,  and  that  through  a 
blind.  Tommy  sidled  round  the  house  in  the 
hope  that  the  small  east  window  would  be  more 
hospitable,  and  just  as  he  saw  that  it  was  blindless 
something  that  had  been  crouching  rose  between 
him  and  it. 

"  Let  go ! "  he  cried,  feeling  the  Painted  Lady's 
talons  in  his  neck. 

u  Tommy ! "  was  the  answer. 

"It's  you,  Elspeth?" 

"  Is  it  you,  Tommy  ?  " 

"Of  course.     Whisht!" 

"  But  say  it  is." 

"  It  is." 

"Oh,  Tommy,  I'm  so  fleid!" 

He  drew  her  farther  from  the  window  and  told 
her  it  had  all  been  a  wicked  lie,  and  she  was  so 
glad  that  she  forgot  to  chide  him,  but  he  denounced 
himself,  and  he  was  better  than  Elspeth  even  at 
that  However,  when  he  learned  what  had 
brought  her  here  he  dried  his  eyes  and  skulked  to 
the  door  again  and  brought  back  her  belongings 

'95 


SENTIMENTAL    TOMMY 

and  then  she  wanted  him  to  come  away  at 
But  the  window  fascinated  him;  he  knew  he 
should  never  find  courage  to  come  here  again, 
and  he  glided  toward  it,  signing  to  Elspeth  to  ac- 
company him.  They  were  now  too  near  Double 
Dykes  for  speaking  to  be  safe,  but  he  tapped  hi* 
head  as  a  warning  to  her  to  remove  her  hat,  for  a 
woman's  head-gear  always  reaches  a  window  in 
front  of  its  wearer,  and  he  touched  his  cold  iron 
and  passed  it  to  her  as  if  it  were  a  snuff-mull. 
Thus  fortified,  they  approached  the  window  fear* 
fully,  holding  hands  and  stepping  high,  like  ' 
couple  in  a  minuet 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE   PAINTED   LADY 

IT  had  been  the  ordinary  dwelling  room  of  the  un- 
known poor,  the  mean  little  "  end  "  —  ah,  no,  no, 
the  noblest  chamber  in  the  annals  of  the  Scottish 
nation.  Here  on  a  hard  anvil  has  its  character  been 
fashioned  and  its  history  made  at  rush-lights  and 
its  God  ever  most  prominent.  Always  within 
reach  of  hands  which  trembled  with  reverence  as 
they  turned  its  broad  page  could  be  found  the 
Book  that  is  compensation  for  all  things,  and  that 
was  never  more  at  home  than  on  bare  dressers  and 
worm-eaten  looms.  If  you  were  brought  up  in 
that  place  and  have  forgotten  it,  there  is  no  more 
hope  for  you. 

But  though  still  recalling  its  past,  the  kitchen 
into  which  Tommy  and  Elspeth  peered  was  trying 
successfully  to  be  something  else.  The  plate-rack 
had  been  a  fixture,  and  the  coffin-bed  and  the 
wooden  bole,  or  board  in  the  wall,  with  its  round 
hole  through  which  you  thrust  your  hand  when 
you  wanted  salt,  and  instead  of  a  real  mantelpiece 
there  was  a  quaint  imitation  one  painted  over  the 

197 


SENTIMENTA1   TOMMY 

fireplace.  There  were  some  pieces  of  furniture  too, 
such  as  were  usual  in  rooms  of  the  kind,  but  most  of 
them,  perhaps  in  ignorance,  had  been  put  to  novel 
uses,  like  the  plate-rack,  where  the  Painted  Lady 
kept  her  many  pretty  shoes  instead  of  her  crockery. 
Gossip  said  she  had  a  looking-glass  of  such  pro- 
digious size  that  it  stood  on  the  floor,  and  Tommy 
nudged  Elspeth  to  signify,  "  There  it  is ! "  Other 
nudges  called  her  attention  to  the  carpet,  the  spinet, 
a  chair  that  rocked  like  a  cradle,  and  some  smaller 
oddities,  of  which  the  queerest  was  a  monster  vel- 
vet glove  hanging  on  the  nail  that  by  rights  be- 
longed to  the  bellows.  The  Painted  Lady  always 
put  on  this  glove  before  she  would  touch  the  coals, 
which  diverted  Tommy,  who  knew  that  common 
folk  lift  coals  with  their  bare  hands  while  society 
uses  the  fringe  of  its  second  petticoat. 

It  might  have  been  a  boudoir  through  which  a 
kitchen  and  bedroom  had  wandered,  spilling  by 
the  way,  but  though  the  effect  was  tawdry,  every- 
thing had  been  rubbed  clean  by  that  passionate 
housewife,  Grizel.  She  was  on  her  knees  at  present 
ca'ming  the  hearthstone  a  beautiful  blue,  and  some- 
times looking  round  to  address  her  mother,  who 
was  busy  among  her  plants  and  cut  flowers.  Surely 
they  were  know-nothings  who  called  this  woman 
silly,  and  blind  who  said  she  painted.  It  was  a 
little  face  all  of  one  colour,  dingy  pale,  not  chubby, 
but  retaining  the  soft  contours  of  a  child's  face, 


THE   PAINTED    LADY 

and  the  features  were  singularly  delicate.  She  was* 
clad  in  a  soft  gray,  and  her  figure  was  of  the  small- 
est; there  was  such  an  ait  of  youth  about  her  that 
Tommy  thought  she  could  become  a  girl  again  by 
merely  shortening  her  frock,  not  such  a  girl  as 
gaunt  Grizel,  though,  who  would  have  looked  a 
little  woman  had  she  let  her  frock  down.  In  ap 
pearance  indeed  the  Painted  Lady  resembled  her 
plain  daughter  not  at  all,  but  in  manner  in  a  score 
of  ways,  as  when  she  rocked  her  arms  joyously  at 
sight  of  a  fresh  bud  or  tossed  her  brown  hair  from 
her  brow  with  a  pretty  gesture  that  ought,  God 
knows,  to  have  been  for  some  man  to  love,  The 
watchers  could  not  hear  what  she  and  Grizei  said, 
but  evidently  it  was  pleasant  converse,  and  mother 
and  child,  happy  in  each  other's  company,  pre 
sented  a  picture  as  sweet  as  it  is  common,  though 
some  might  have  complained  that  they  were  doing 
each  other's  work.  But  the  Painted  Lady's  delight 
in  flowers  was  a  scandal  in  Thrums,  where  she 
would  stand  her  ground  if  the  roughest  boy  ap 
proached  her  with  roses  in  his  hand,  and  she  gave 
money  for  them,  which  was  one  reason  why  the  peo 
pie  thought  her  daft  She  was  tending  her  flowers 
now  with  experienced  eye,  smelling  them  daintily 
and  every  time  she  touched  them  it  was  a  caress 

The  watchers  retired  into  the  field  to  compare 
impressions,  and  Elspeth  said  emphatically,  "  I  like 
her,  Tommy,  I'm  not  none  fleid  at  her." 

JQQ 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Tommy  had  liked  her  also,  but  being  a  man  he 
said,  "  You  forget  that  she's  an  ill  one." 

"  She  looks  as  if  she  didna  ken  that  hersely  an- 
swered Elspeth,  and  these  words  of  a  child  are  the 
best  picture  we  can  hope  to  get  of  the  Painted 
Lad) 

On  their  return  to  the  window,  they  saw  that 
Grizel  had  finished  her  ca'ming  and  was  now  sit- 
ting on  the  floor  nursing  a  doll.  Tommy  had  not 
thought  her  the  kind  to  shut  her  eyes  to  the  truth 
about  dolls,  but  she  was  hugging  this  one  passion- 
ately. Without  its  clothes  it  was  of  the  nine-pin 
formation,  and  the  painted  eyes  and  mouth  had 
been  incorporated  long  since  in  loving  Grizel's 
system ;  but  it  became  just  sweet  as  she  swaddled 
it  in  a  long  yellow  frock  and  slipped  its  bullet 
head  into  a  duck  of  a  pink  bonnet.  These  articles 
of  attire  and  the  others  that  you  begin  with  had  all 
been  made  by  Grizel  herself  out  of  the  coloured 
tissue-paper  that  shopkeepers  wrap  round  brandy- 
bottles.  The  doll's  name  was  Griselda,  and  it  was 
exactly  six  months  old,  and  Grizel  had  found  it, 
two  years  ago,  lying  near  the  Coffin  Brig,  naked 
and  almost  dead. 

It  was  making  the  usual  fuss  at  having  its  clothes 
put  on,  and  Grizel  had  to  tell  it  frequently  that  of 
all  the  babies  —  which  shamed  it  now  and  again, 
but  kept  her  so  occupied  that  she  forgot  her 
mother.  The  Painted  Lady  had  sunk  into  fhf 

200 


THE   PAINTED   LADY 

rocking-chair,  and  for  a  time  she  amused  herself 
with  it,  but  by  and  by  it  ceased  to  rock,  and  as  she 
sat  looking  straight  before  her  a  change  came  over 
her  face.  Elspeth's  hand  tightened  its  clutch  on 
Tommy's ;  the  Painted  Lady  had  begun  to  talk  to 
herself. 

She  was  not  speaking  aloud,  for  evidently  Gri- 
zel,  whose  back  was  toward  her,  heard  nothing, 
but  her  lips  moved  and  she  nodded  her  head  and 
smiled  and  beckoned,  apparently  to  the  wall,  and 
the  childish  face  rapidly  became  vacant  and  fool- 
ish. This  mood  passed,  and  now  she  was  sitting 
very  still,  only  her  head  moving,  as  she  looked  in 
apprehension  and  perplexity  this  way  and  that, 
like  one  who  no  longer  knew  where  she  was,  nor 
who  was  the  child  by  the  fire.  When  at  last  Gri- 
zel  turned  and  observed  the  change,  she  may  have 
sighed,  but  there  was  no  fear  in  her  face ;  the  fear 
was  on  the  face  of  her  mother,  who  shrank  from 
her  in  unmistakable  terror  and  would  have  screamed 
at  a  harsh  word  or  a  hasty  movement.  Grizel 
seemed  to  know  this,  for  she  remained  where  she 
was,  and  first  she  nodded  and  smiled  reassuringly 
to  her  mother,  and  then,  leaning  forward,  took  her 
hand  and  stroked  it  softly  and  began  to  talk.  She 
had  laid  aside  her  doll,  and  with  the  act  become  a 
woman  again. 

The  Painted  Lady  was  soothed,  but  her  bewil- 
dered look  came  and  went,  as  if  she  only  caught 

201 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

at  some  explanation  Grizel  was  making,  to  lose  ii 
in  a  moment.  Yet  she  seemed  most  eager  to  be 
persuaded.  The  little  watchers  at  this  queet  play 
saw  that  Grizel  was  saying  things  to  her  which 
she  repeated  docilely  and  clung  to  and  lost  hold 
of.  Often  Grizel  illustrated  her  words  by  a  sort  of 
pantomime,  as  when  she  sat  down  on  a  chair  and 
placed  the  doll  in  her  lap,  then  sat  down  on  hei 
mother's  lap ;  and  when  she  had  done  this  several 
times  Tommy  took  Elspeth  into  the  field  to  say 
to  her : 

"Do  you  no  see?  She  means  as  she  is  the 
Painted  Lady's  bairn,  just  the  same  as  the  doll  is 
her  bairn." 

If  the  Painted  Lady  needed  to  be  told  this  every 
minute  she  was  daft  indeed,  and  Elspeth  could  peei 
no  longer  at  the  eerie  spectacle.  To  leave  Tommy  H 
however,  was  equally  difficult,  so  she  crouched  at 
his  feet  when  he  returned  to  the  window,  drawn 
there  hastily  by  the  sound  of  music. 

The  Painted  Lady  could  play  on  the  spinel 
beautifully,  but  Grizel  could  not  play,  though  it 
was  she  who  was  trying  to  play  now.  She  was 
running  her  fingers  over  the  notes,  producing  noises 
from  them,  while  she  swayed  grotesquely  on  hei 
seat  and  made  comic  faces.  Her  object  was  to 
capture  her  mother's  mind,  and  she  succeeded  fo? 
a  short  time,  but  soon  it  floated  away  from  all  con 
troi»  and  the  Painted  Lady  fell  a-shaking  violently 

202 


THE   PAINTED   LADY 

Then  Grizel  seemed  to  be  alarmed,  and  het  arms 
rocked  despairingly,  but  she  went  to  her  mother 
and  took  loving  hold  of  her,  and  the  woman  clung 
to  her  child  in  a  way  pitiful  to  see.  She  was  or 
Grizel's  knee  now,  but  she  still  shivered  as  if  in  a 
deadly  chill,  and  hei  feet  rattled  on  the  floor,  and 
her  arms  against  the  sides  of  the  chair.  Grizel 
pinned  the  trembling  arms  with  her  own  and 
twisted  her  legs  round  her  mother's,  and  still  the 
Painted  Lady's  tremors  shook  them  both,  so  that 
to  Tommy  they  were  as  two  people  wrestling. 

The  shivering  slowly  lessened  and  at  last  ceased, 
but  this  seemed  to  make  Grizel  no  less  unhappy 
To  her  vehement  attempt  to  draw  her  mother's 
attention  she  got  no  response ;  the  Painted  Lady 
was  hearkening  intently  for  some  sound  other  than 
Grizel's  voice,  and  only  once  did  she  look  at  her 
child.     Then  it  was  with  cruel,  ugly  eyes,  and  at 
the  same  moment  she  shoved  Grizel  aside  so  vi- 
ciously that  it  was  almost  a  blow.   Grizel  sat  down 
sorrowfully  beside  her  doll,  like  one  aware  that  she 
could  do  no  more,  and  her  mother  at  once  forgot  her  / 
What  was  she  listening  for  so  eagerly  $   Was  it  fo; 
the  gallop  of  a  horse  ^    Tommy  strained  his  ears 
"  Elspeth — speak  low — do  you  hear  anything4?" 
"  No ;  I'm  ower  fleid  to  listen." 
"  Whisht !  do  you  no  hear  a  horse  ?  " 
"  No,  everything's  terrible  still     Do  you  hear  a 
horse  ?  * 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMM\ 

"I— I  think  I  do,  but  far  awa'," 

His  imagination  was  on  fire.  Did  he  hear  a 
distant  galloping  or  did  he  only  make  himself  hear 
it?  He  had  bent  his  head,  and  Elspeth,  looking 
affrighted  into  his  face,  whispered,  "  I  hear  it  too, 
on,  Tommy,  so  do  I ! " 

And  the  Painted  Lady  had  heard  it.  She  kissed 
her  hand  toward  the  Den  several  times,  and  each 
time  Tommy  seemed  to  hear  that  distant  gallop* 
ing.  All  the  sweetness  had  returned  to  her  face 
now,  and  with  it  a  surging  joy,  and  she  rocked  her 
arms  exultantly,  but  quickly  controlled  them  lest 
Grizel  should  see.  For  evidently  Grizel  must  be 
cheated,  and  so  the  Painted  Lady  became  very 
sly.  She  slipped  off  her  shoes  to  be  able  to  make 
her  preparations  noiselessly,  and  though  at  all 
other  times  her  face  expressed  the  rapture  of  love, 
when  she  glanced  at  her  child  it  was  suspiciously 
and  with  a  gleam  of  hatred.  Her  preparations 
were  for  going  out.  She  was  long  at  the  famous 
mirror,  and  when  she  left  it  her  hair  was  elabor* 
ately  dressed  and  her  face  so  transformed  that  first 
Tommy  exclaimed  "  Bonny ! "  and  then  corrected 
himself  with  a  scornful  "  Paint ! "  On  her  feet  she 
put  a  foolish  little  pair  of  red  shoes,  on  her  head  a 
hat  too  gay  with  flowers,  and  across  her  shoulders 
a  flimsy  white  shawl  at  which  the  night  air  of 
Thrums  would  laugh.  Her  every  movement  was 
light  and  cautious  and  accompanied  by  side-glances 

204 


THE   PAINTED  LADY 

at  Grizel,  who  occasionally  looked  at  her,  when 
the  Painted  Lady  immediately  pretended  to  be 
tending  her  plants  again.  She  spoke  to  Grizel 
sweetly  to  deceive  her,  and  shot  baleful  glances  at 
her  next  moment  Tommy  saw  that  Grizel  had 
taken  up  her  doll  once  more  and  was  squeezing  it 
to  her  breast  She  knew  very  well  what  was  going 
on  behind  her  back. 

Suddenly  Tommy  took  to  his  heels,  Elspeth 
after  him.  He  had  seen  the  Painted  Lady  com- 
ing on  her  tiptoes  to  the  window.  They  saw  the 
window  open  and  a  figure  in  a  white  shawl  creep 
out  of  it,  as  she  had  doubtless  escaped  long  ago 
by  another  window  when  the  door  was  barred. 
They  lost  sight  of  her  at  once. 

"  What  will  Grizel  do  now  ? "  Tommy  whis- 
pered, and  he  would  have  returned  to  his  watch- 
ing place,  but  Elspeth  pointed  to  the  window. 
Grizel  was  there  closing  it,  and  next  moment  the 
lamp  was  extinguished.  They  heard  a  key  turn 
in  the  lock,  and  presently  Grizel,  carrying  warm 
wraps,  passed  very  near  them  and  proceeded 
along  the  double  dykes,  not  anxious  apparently  to 
keep  her  mother  in  view,  but  slowly,  as  if  she 
knew  where  to  find  her.  She  went  into  the  Den, 
where  Tommy  dared  not  follow  her,  but  he  list- 
ened at  the  stile  and  in  the  awful  silence  he  fancied 
he  heard  the  neighing  of  a  horse. 

The  next  time  he  met  Grizei  he  was  yearning 
205 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMM\ 

to  ask  her  how  she  spent  that  night,  but  he  knew 
she  would  not  answer;  it  would  be  a  long  time 
before  she  gave  him  her  confidence  again.  He 
offered  hei  his  piece  of  cold  iron,  however,  and 
explained  why  he  carried  it,  whereupon  she  flung 
it  across  the  road,  crying,  "  You  horrid  boy,  do 
you  think  I  am  frightened  at  my  mamma !  "  But 
when  he  was  out  of  sight  she  came  back  and 
slipped  the  cold  iron  into  her  pocket 


206 


CHAPTER  XVII 

iN    WHICH   TOMMY   SOLVES   THE    WOMAN    PROBLEM 

PITY  made  Elspeth  want  to  like  the  Painted 
Lady's  child  now,  but  her  own  rules  of  life  were 
all  from  a  book  never  opened  by  Grizel,  who 
made  her  religion  for  herself  and  thought  God  a 
swear ;  she  also  despised  Elspeth  for  being  so  de- 
pendent on  Tommy,  and  Elspeth  knew  it.  The 
two  great  subjects  being  barred  thus,  it  was  not 
likely  that  either  girl,  despite  some  attempts  on 
Elspeth's  part,  should  find  out  the  best  that  was  in 
the  other,  without  which  friendship  has  no  mean- 
ing, and  they  would  have  gone  different  ways  had 
not  Tommy  given  an  arm  to  each.  He,  indeed, 
had  as  little  in  common  with  Grizel,  for  most  con^ 
spicuous  of  his  traits  was  the  faculty  of  stepping 
into  other  people's  shoes  and  remaining  there  un- 
til he  became  someone  else ;  his  individuality  con- 
sisted in  having  none,  while  she  could  only  be 
herself  and  was  without  tolerance  for  those  who 
were  different;  he  had  at  no  time  in  his  life  the 
least  desire  to  make  other  persons  like  himself,  but 
?f  they  were  not  like  Grizel  she  rocked  her  arms 

207 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

and  cried,  "  Why,  why,  why  ?  "  which  is  the  mark 
of  the  "  womanly  "  woman.  But  his  tendency  to 
be  anyone  he  was  interested  in  implied  enormous 
sympathy  (for  the  time  being),  and  though  Grizcl 
spurned  his  overtures,  this  only  fired  his  pride  of 
conquest.  We  can  all  get  whatever  we  want  if 
we  are  quite  determined  to  have  it  (though  it  be 
a  king's  daughter),  and  in  the  end  Tommy  van- 
quished Grizel.  How?  By  offering  to  let  her 
come  into  Aaron's  house  and  wash  it  and  dust  it 
and  ca'm  it,  "just  as  if  you  were  our  mother,"  an 
invitation  she  could  not  resist  To  you  this  may 
seem  an  easy  way,  but  consider  the  penetration  he 
showed  in  thinking  of  it  It  came  to  him  one 
day  when  he  saw  her  lift  the  smith's  baby  out  of 
the  gutter,  and  hug  it  with  a  passionate  delight  in 
babies. 

"  She's  so  awid  to  do  it,"  he  said  basely  to  El- 
speth,  "  that  we  needna  let  on  how  much  we  want 
it  done."  And  he  also  mentioned  her  eagerness  to 
Aaron  as  a  reason  why  she  should  be  allowed  to 
do  it  for  nothing. 

For  Aaron  to  hold  out  against  her  admittance 
would  have  been  to  defraud  himself,  for  she  trans- 
formed his  house.  When  she  saw  the  brass  lining 
of  the  jelly-pan  discoloured,  and  that  the  stockings 
hanging  from  the  string  beneath  the  mantelpiece 
had  given  way  where  the  wearers  were  hardest  on 
them ;  wher\  she  found  dripping  adhering  to  a  cold 

208 


TOMMY   SOLVES   THE   PROBLEM 

irying-pan  instead  of  in  a  "  pig/'  and  the  pitches 
leaking  and  the  carrot-gratei  stopped  —  when  these 
and  similar  discoveries  were  made  by  Grizel,  was 
it  a  squeal  of  horror  she  gave  that  such  things 
should  be,  or  a  cry  of  rapture  because  to  her  had 
fallen  the  task  of  setting  them  right  ? 

'*  She  just  made  a  jump  for  the  besom,"  was 
Tommy's  graphic  description  of  how  it  all  began. 

You  should  have  seen  Grizel  on  the  hoddy-table 
knocking  nails  into  the  wall.  The  hoddy-table  is 
so  called  because  it  goes  beneath  the  larger  one  at 
night,  like  a  chicken  under  its  mother,  and  Grizel, 
with  the  nails  in  her  mouth,  used  them  up  so 
quickly  that  you  would  have  sworn  she  swallowed 
half  of  them;  yet  she  rocked  her  arms  because  she 
could  not  be  at  all  four  walls  at  once.  She  rushed 
about  the  room  until  she  was  dizzy,  and  Tommy 
knew  the  moment  to  cry 4*  Grip  her,  shell  tumble ! " 
when  he  and  Elspeth  seized  her  and  put  her  on  a 
stool. 

It  is  on  the  hoddy-table  that  you  bake  and  iron 
"  There's  not  a  baking-board  in  the  house,"  Elspeth 
explained.  "  There  is ! "  cried  Grizel,  there  anc 
then  converting  a  drawer  into  one. 

Between  her  big  bannocks  she  made  baby  ones 
for  no  better  reason  than  that  she  was  so  fond  of 
babies,  and  she  kissed  the  baby  ones  and  said 
"  Oh,  the  loves,  they  are  just  sweet ! "  and  she  felt 
for  them  when  Tommy  took  a  bite.  She  could 

209 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

go  so  quickly  between  the  board  and  the  girdle 
that  she  was  always  at  one  end  of  the  course  01 
the  other,  but  never  gave  you  time  to  say  at  which 
end,  and  on  the  limited  space  round  the  fire  she 
could  balance  such  a  number  of  bannocks  that 
they  were  as  much  a  wonder  as  the  Lord's  prayei 
written  on  a  sixpence.  Such  a  vigilant  eye  she 
kept  on  them,  too,  that  they  dared  not  fall  Yet 
she  had  never  been  taught  to  bake ;  a  good-natured 
neighbour  had  now  and  again  allowed  heir  to 
look  on. 

Then  hei  ironing!  Even  Aaron  opened  his 
mouth  on  this  subject,  Blinder  being  his  confidant 
"  I  thought  there  was  a  smell  o5  burning,"  he  said. 
"  and  so  I  went  butt  the  house ;  but  man,  as  soon 
as  my  een  lighted  on  her  I  minded  of  my  mother 
at  the  same  job  The  crittur  was  so  busy  with 
her  work  that  she  looked  as  if,  though  the  last 
trumpet  had  blawn,  she  would  just  have  cried,  *  I 
canna  come  till  my  ironing's  done  ! '  Ay,  I  went 
ben  without  a  word  " 

But  best  of  all  was  to  see  Grize)  "  redding  up ' 
on  a  Saturday  afternoon  Where  were  Tommv. 
and  Elspeth  then  9  They  were  shut  up  in  the 
coffin-bed  to  be  out  of  the  way,  and  could  scarce 
have  told  whether  they  fled  thither  or  were  wrapped 
into  it  by  her  energetic  arms,  Even  Aaron  dared 
not  cross  the  floor  until  it  was  sanded  "  I  be 
lieve,"  he  said  trying  to  jest,  M  you  would  like  tc 

210 


TOMMY  SOLVES  THE   PROBLEM 


snut  me  up  in  the  bed  too  !  "  "I  should  just 
it,"  she  cried,  eagerly;  "will  you  go$"  It  is  an 
inferior  woman  who  has  a  sense  of  humour  when 
there  is  a  besom  in  her  hand. 

Thus  began  great  days  to  Grizel,  "  sweet  "  she 
called  them,  for  she  had  many  of  her  mother's 
words,  and  a  pretty  way  of  emphasizing  them 
with  her  plain  face  that  turned  them  all  into  su- 
perlatives. But  though  Tommy  and  Elspeth  were 
her  friends  now,  her  mouth  shut  obstinately  the 
moment  they  mentioned  the  Painted  Lady;  she 
regretted  ever  having  given  Tommy  her  confi- 
dence on  that  subject,  and  was  determined  not  to 
do  so  again.  He  did  not  dare  tell  her  that  he  had 
once  been  at  the  east  window  of  her  home,  but 
often  he  and  Elspeth  spoke  to  each  other  of  that 
adventure,  and  sometimes  they  woke  in  their  gar- 
ret bed  thinking  they  heard  the  horseman  gallop- 
ing by.  Then  they  crept  closer  to  each  other,  and 
wondered  whether  Grizel  was  cosey  in  her  bed  or 
stalking  an  eerie  figure  in  the  Den. 

Aaron  said  little,  but  he  was  drawn  to  the  girl, 
who  had  not  the  self-consciousness  of  Tommy  and 
Elspeth  in  his  presence,  and  sometimes  he  slipped 
a  penny  into  her  hand.  The  pennies  were  not 
spent,  they  were  hoarded  for  the  fair,  or  Muckle 
Friday,  or  Muckley.  great  day  of  the  year  in 
Thrums.  If  you  would  know  how  Tommy  waa 
naking  ready  for  this  mighty  festival,  listen. 

211 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

One  of  his  sources  of  income  was  the  Mentw,  * 
fomous  London  weekly  paper,  which  seemed  to 
visitors  to  be  taken  in  by  every  person  of  position 
in  Thrums.  It  was  to  be  seen  not  only  in  parlours, 
but  on  the  armchair  at  the  Jute  Bank,  in  the  gau- 
ger's  gig,  in  the  Spittal  factor's  dog-cart,  on  a  shoe- 
/  maker's  form,  protruding  from  Dr.  McQueen's  tail 
pccket  and  from  Mr.  Duthie's  oxter  pocket,  on 
Cathro's  school-desk,  in  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dishart's 
study,  in  half  a  dozen  farms.  Miss  Ailie  com- 
pelled her  little  servant,  Gavinia,  to  read  the 
Mentor,  and  stood  over  her  while  she  did  it ;  the 
phrase,  "  this  week's,"  meant  this  week's  Mentor. 
Yet  the  secret  must  be  told :  only  one  copy  of  the 
paper  came  to  Thrums  weekly ;  it  was  subscribed 
for  by  the  whole  reading  public  between  them, 
and  by  Miss  Ailie's  influence  Tommy  had  become 
the  boy  who  carried  it  from  house  to  house. 

This  brought  him  a  penny  a  week,  but  so  heavy 
were  his  incidental  expenses  that  he  could  have 
saved  little  for  the  Muckley  had  not  another  or- 
ganization given  him  a  better  chance.  It  was  a 
society,  newly  started,  for  helping  the  deserving 
poor ;  they  had  to  subscribe  not  less  than  a  penny 
weekly  to  it,  and  at  the  end  of  the  year  each  sub- 
scriber was  to  be  given  fuel,  etc.,  to  the  value  of 
double  what  he  or  she  had  put  in.  *•  The  three 
Ps  "  was  a  nickname  given  to  the  society  by  Dr. 
McQueen,  because  it  claimed  to  distribute  *•  Peats 

212 


TOMMY   SOLVES  THE   PROBLEM 

and  Potatoes  with  Propriety,"  but  he  was  one  of 
its  heartiest  supporters  nevertheless.  The  history 
cf  this  society  in  the  first  months  of  its  existence 
not  only  shows  how  Tommy  became  a  moneyed 
man,  but  gives  a  glimpse  into  the  character  of 
those  it  benefited. 

Miss  Ailie  was  treasurer,  and  the  pennies  were 
to  be  brought  to  her  on  Monday  evenings  between 
the  hours  of  seven  and  eight.  The  first  Monday 
evening  found  her  ready  in  the  school-room,  in  her 
hand  the  famous  pencil  that  wrote  red  with  the 
one  end  and  blue  with  the  other;  by  her  side  her 
assistant,  Mr.  T.  Sandys,  a  pen  balanced  on  his 
ear.  For  a  whole  hour  did  they  wait,  but  though 
many  of  the  worthiest  poor  had  been  enrolled  as 
members,  the  few  who  appeared  with  their  pennies 
were  notoriously  riff-raff.  At  eight  Miss  Ailie  dis- 
consolately sent  Tommy  home,  but  he  was  back 
in  five  minutes. 

"  There's  a  mask  of  them,"  he  told  her,  excitedly, 
"hanging  about,  but  feared  to  come  in  because 
the  others  would  see  them.  They're  ashamed  to 
have  it  kent  that  they  belong  to  a  charity  society, 
and  Meggy  Robbie  is  wandering  round  the  Dove- 
cot wi*  her  penny  wrapped  in  a  paper,  and  Watty 
Rattray  and  Ronny-On  is  walking  up  and  down 
the  brae  pretending  they  dinna  ken  one  another, 
and  auld  Connacher's  Jeanie  Ann  says  she  has 
been  four  times  round  the  town  waiting  for  Kitty 

213 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

Elshioner  to  go  away,  and  there's  a  one-leggit  man 
hodding  in  the  ditch,  and  Tibbie  Birse  is  out  wi* 
a  lantern  counting  them." 

Miss  Ailie  did  not  know  what  to  do.  "  Here's 
Jeanie  Ann's  penny,"  Tommy  continued,  opening 
his  hand,  "  and  this  is  three  bawbees  frae  Kitty 
Elshioner  and  you  and  me  is  no  to  tell  a  soul 
they've  joined." 

A  furtive  tapping  was  heard  at  the  door.  It  was 
Ronny-On,  who  had  skulked  forward  with  two- 
pence, but  Gavinia  answered  his  knock,  so  he  just 
said,  "  Ay,  Gavinia,  it's  yoursel'.  Well,  I'll  be 
stepping,"  and  would  have  retired  had  not  Miss 
Ailie  caught  him.  Even  then  he  said,  "Three 
bawbees  is  to  you  to  lay  by,  and  one  bawbee  to 
Gavinia  no  to  tell." 

To  next  Monday  evening  Miss  Ailie  now  looked 
with  apprehension,  but  Tommy  lay  awake  that 
night  until,  to  use  a  favourite  crow  of  his,  he 
"found  a  way."  He  borrowed  the  school-mistress's 
blne-and-red  pencil  and  sought  the  houses  of  the 
sensitive  poor  with  the  following  effect.  One 
sample  will  suffice;  take  him  at  the  door  of 
Meggy  Robbie  in  the  West  Muir,  which  he  flung 
open  with  the  effrontery  of  a  tax-collector. 

"  You're  a  three  P,"  he  said,  with  a  wave  of  his 
pencil. 

"  I'm  no  sic  thing!"  cried  the  old  lady. 

"  It  winna  do,  woman,"  Tommy  said  sternly, 
214 


TOMMY   SOLVES   THE   PROBLEM 

•'  Miss  Ailie  telled  me  you  paid  in  your  first  penny 
on  the  chap  of  ten."  He  wetted  the  pencil  on  his 
tongue  to  show  that  it  was  vain  to  trifle  with  him, 
and  Meggy  bowed  her  head. 

"  It'll  be  through  the  town  that  I've  joined,"  she 
moaned,  but  Tommy  explained  that  he  was  there 
to  save  her. 

"  I'm  willing  to  come  to  your  house,"  he  said, 
"  and  collect  the  money  every  week,  and  not  a  soul 
will  I  tell  except  the  committee." 

"  Kitty  Elshioner  would  see  you  coming,"  said 
Meggy. 

"No,  no,  I'll  creep  yont  the  hedge  and  climb 
the  hen-house." 

"  But  it  would  be  a'  found  out  at  any  rate,"  she 
remembered,  "  when  I  go  for  the  peats  and  things 
at  Hogmanay." 

"  It  needna  be,"  eagerly  replied  Tommy.  "  I'll 
bring  them  to  you  in  a  barrow  in  the  dead  o'  night." 

"  Could  you  ?  "  she  cried  passionately,  and  he 
promised  he  would,  and  it  may  be  mentioned  here 
that  he  did. 

"  And  what  for  yoursel*  ?  "  she  inquired. 

"A  bawbee,"  he  said,  "the  night  afore  the 
Muckley." 

The  bargain  was  made,  but  before  he  could  get 
away,  "  Tell  me,  laddie,"  said  Meggy,  coaxingly, 
44  has  Kitty  Elshioner  joined  ?  "  They  were  all  as 
curious  to  know  who  had  joined  as  they  were 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

anxious  to  keep  their  own  membership  a  secret s 
but  Tommy  betrayed  none,  at  least  none  who 
agreed  to  his  proposal.  There  were  so  many  of 
these  that  on  the  night  before  the  Muckley  he  had 
thirteen  pence. 

"  And  you  was  doing  good  all  the  time  you  was 
making  the  thirteen  pence,"  Elspeth  said,  fondly, 
u  I  believe  that  was  the  reason  you  did  it," 

"  I  believe  it  was !  "  Tommy  exclaimed.  He 
had  not  thought  of  this  before,  but  \t  was  easy  to 
him  to  believe  anything. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  MUCKLEY 

EVERV  child  in  Thrums  went  to  bed  on  the  night 
before  the  Muckley  hugging  a  pirly,  or,  as  the 
vulgar  say,  a  money-box;  and  all  the  pirlies  were 
ready  for  to-morrow,  that  is  to  say,  the  mouths  of 
them  had  been  widened  with  gully  knives  by 
owners  now  so  skilful  at  the  jerk  which  sends  theii 
contents  to  the  floor  that  pirlies  they  were  no 
longer.  "  Disgorge  ! "  was  the  universal  cry,  or, 
in  the  vernacular,  "  Out  you  come,  you  sweet 
deevils ! " 

Not  a  coin  but  had  its  history,  not  a  boy  who 
was  unable  to  pick  out  his  own  among  a  hundred 
The  black  one  came  from  the  'Sosh,  the  bent  lad 
he  got  for  carrying  in  Ronny-On's  sticks.  Oh 
michty  me,  sure  as  death  he  had  nearly  forgotten 
the  one  with  the  warts  on  it  Which  to  spend 
first  ?  The  goldy  one  *?  Na  faags,  it  was  ower  ill 
to  come  by.  The  scartit  one  ?  No,  no,  it  was  a 
lucky.  Well,  then,  the  one  found  in  the  rat's  hole  ? 
(That  was  a  day !)  Ay,  dagont,  ay,  we'll  make 
the  first  blatter  with  it. 

It  was  Tommy's  first  Muckley,  and  the  report 
217 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

that  he  had  thirteen  pence  brought  him  many 
advisers  about  its  best  investment.  Even  Corp 
Shiach  (fivepence)  suspended  hostilities  for  this 
purpose.  "  Mind  this,"  he  said  solemnly,  "  there's 
none  o'  the  candies  as  sucks  so  long  as  Californy's 
Teuch  and  Tasty.  Other  kinds  may  be  sweeter, 
but  Teuch  and  Tasty  lasts  the  longest,  and  what 
a  grip  it  has !  It  pulls  out  your  teeth ! "  Corp 
seemed  to  think  that  this  was  a  recommendation. 

"  I'm  nane  sure  o'  Teuch  and  Tasty,"  Birkie 
said.  "  If  you  dinna  keep  a  watch  on  it,  it  slips 
ower  when  you're  swallowing  your  spittle." 

"  Then  you  should  tie  a  string  to  it,"  suggested 
Tommy,  who  was  thought  more  of  from  that  hour. 

Beware  of  Pickpockets  !  Had  it  not  been  for  pla- 
cards with  this  glorious  announcement  (it  is  the 
state's  first  printed  acknowledgment  that  boys  and 
girls  form  part  of  the  body  politic)  you  might 
have  thought  that  the  night  before  the  Muck  ley 
was  absurdly  like  other  nights.  Not  a  show  had 
arrived,  not  a  strange  dog,  no  romantic  figures 
were  wandering  the  streets  in  search  of  lodgings, 
no  stands  had  sprung  up  in  the  square.  You 
could  pass  hours  in  pretending  to  fear  that  when 
the  morning  came  there  would  be  no  fairyland 
And  all  the  time  you  knew. 

About  ten  o'clock  Ballingall's  cat  was  observed 
washing  its  face,  a  deliberate  attempt  to  bring  on 
rain.  It  was  immediately  put  to  death. 

2l8 


THE  MUCKLEY 

Tommy  and  Elspeth  had  agreed  to  lie  awake 
all  night;  if  Tommy  nipped  Elspeth,  Elspeth 
would  nip  Tommy.  Other  children  had  made 
the  same  arrangement,  though  the  experienced 
ones  were  aware  that  it  would  fail.  If  it  was  true 
that  all  the  witches  were  dead,  then  the  streets  of 
stands  and  shows  and  gaming-tables  and  shooting- 
galleries  were  erected  by  human  hands,  and  it  fol- 
lowed that  were  you  to  listen  through  the  night 
you  must  hear  the  hammers.  But  always  in  the 
watches  the  god  of  the  Muckley  came  unseen 
and  glued  your  eyes,  as  if  with  Teuch  and  Tasty, 
and  while  you  slept  —  Up  you  woke  with  a  start. 
What  was  it  you  were  to  mind  as  soon  as  you 
woke?  Listen!  That's  a  drum  beating!  It's 
the  Muckley !  They  are  all  here  !  It  has  begun ! 
Oh,  michty,  michty,  michty,  whaur's  my  breeks  *? 

When  Tommy,  with  Elspeth  and  Grizel,  set 
off  excitedly  for  the  town,  the  country-folk  were 
already  swarming  in.  The  Monypenny  road  was 
thick  with  them,  braw  loons  in  blue  bonnets  with 
red  bobs  to  them,  tartan  waistcoats,  scarves  of 
every  colour,  woollen  shirts  as  gay,  and  the  strut- 
ting wearers  in  two  minds — whether  to  take  off 
the  scarf  to  display  the  shirt,  or  hide  the  shirt  and 
trust  to  the  scarf.  Came  lassies,  too,  in  wincey 
bodices  they  were  like  to  burst  through,  and  they 
were  listening  apprehensively  as  they  ploughed 
onward  for  a  tearing  at  the  seams.  There  were 

219 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

red-headed  lasses,  yellow-chy-headed  and  black* 
headed,  blue-shawled  and  red-shawled  lasses;  boots 
on  every  one  of  them,  stockings  almost  as  com- 
mon,  the  skirt  kilted  up  for  the  present,  but  down 
it  should  go  when  they  were  in  the  thick  of  things, 
and  then  it  must  take  care  of  itself.  All  were  sol- 
emn and  sheepish  as  yet,  but  wait  a  bit 

The  first-known  face  our  three  met  was  Corp, 
He  was  only  able  to  sign  to  them,  because  Cali- 
forny's  specialty  had  already  done  its  work  and 
glued  his  teeth  together.  He  was  off  to  the  smithy 
to  be  melted,  but  gave  them  to  understand  that 
though  awkward  it  was  glorious.  Then  came 
Birkie,  who  had  sewn  up  the  mouths  of  his  pock- 
ets, all  but  a  small  slit  in  each,  as  a  precaution 
against  pickpockets,  and  was  now  at  his  own  re- 
quest being  held  upside  down  by  the  Haggerty- 
Taggertys  on  the  chance  that  a  half-penny  which 
had  disappeared  mysteriously  might  fall  out.  A 
more  tragic  figure  was  Francie  Crabb  (one  and 
sevenpence),  who,  like  a  mad,  mad  thing,  had 
taken  all  his  money  to  the  fair  at  once.  In  ten 
minutes  he  had  bought  fourteen  musical  instru- 
ments. 

Tommy  and  party  had  not  yet  reached  the  cele- 
brated corner  of  the  west  town  end  where  the 
stands  began,  but  they  were  near  it,  and  he  stopped 
to  give  Grizel  and  Elspeth  his  final  instructions : 
"(i)  Keep  your  money  in  your  purse,  and  youi 

220 


THE  MUCKLEY 

purse  in  your  hand,  and  your  hand  in  your  pocket; 
(2)  if  you  lose  me,  I'll  give  Shovel's  whistle,  and 
syne  you  maun  squeeze  and  birse  your  way  back 
to  me." 

Now  then,  are  you  ready  ?  Bang !  They  were 
in  it.  Strike  up,  ye  fiddlers ;  drums,  break ;  tooters, 
fifers,  at  it  for  your  lives;  trumpets,  blow;  bagpipes, 
skirl ;  music-boxes,  all  together  now — Tommy  has 
arrived. 

Even  before  he  had  seen  Thrums,  except  with 
his  mother's  eye,  Tommy  knew  that  the  wise  begin 
the  Muckley  by  measuring  its  extent  That  the 
square  and  adjoining  wynds  would  be  crammed 
was  a  law  of  nature,  but  boyhood  drew  imaginary 
lines  across  the  Roods,  the  west  town  end,  the 
east  town  end,  and  the  brae,  and  if  the  stands  did 
not  reach  these  there  had  been  retrogression. 
Tommy  found  all  well  in  two  quarters,  got  a  nasty 
shock  on  the  brae,  but  medicine  for  it  in  the 
Roods ;  on  the  whole,  yelled  a  hundred  children, 
by  way  of  greeting  to  each  other,  a  better  Muck- 
ley  than  ever. 

From  those  who  loved  them  best,  the  more  no- 
table Muckleys  got  distinctive  names  for  conve- 
nience of  reference.  As  shall  be  ostentatiously 
shown  in  its  place,  there  was  a  Muckley  called  (and 
by  Corp  Shiach,  too)  after  Tommy,  but  this,  his 
first,  was  dubbe'd  Sewster's  Muckley,  in  honour  of 
a  seamstress  who  hanged  herself  that  day  in  the 

221 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Three-cornered  Wood.  Poor  little  sewster,  she 
had  known  joyous  Muckleys  too,  but  now  she  was 
up  in  the  Three-cornered  Wood  hanging  herself, 
aged  nineteen.  I  know  nothing  more  of  her,  ex- 
cept that  in  her  maiden  days  when  she  left  the 
house  her  mother  always  came  to  the  door  to  look 
proudly  after  her. 

How  to  describe  the  scene,  when  owing  to  the 
throng  a  boy  could  only  peer  at  it  between  legs  or 
through  the  crook  of  a  woman's  arm *?  Shovel 
would  have  run  up  ploughmen  to  get  his  bird's- 
eye  view,  and  he  could  have  told  Tommy  what  he 
saw,  and  Tommy  could  have  made  a  picture  of  it 
in  his  mind,  every  figure  ten  feet  high.  But  per- 
haps to  be  lost  in  it  was  best.  You  had  but  to 
dive  and  come  up  anywhere  to  find  something 
amazing;  you  fell  over  a  box  of  jumping-jacks 
into  a  new  world. 

Everyone  to  his  taste.  If  you  want  Tommy's 
sentiments,  here  they  are,  condensed :  "  The  shows 
surpass  everything  else  on  earth.  Four  streets  of 
them  in  the  square !  The  best  is  the  menagerie, 
because  there  is  the  loudest  roaring  there.  Kick 
the  caravans  and  you  increase  the  roaring.  Ad- 
mission, however,  prohibitive  (threepence).  More 
economical  to  stand  outside  the  show  of  the  'Moun- 
tain Maid  and  the  Shepherd's  Bride '  and  watch 
the  merriman  saying  funny  things  to  the  monkey. 
Take  care  you  don't  get  in  front  of  the  steps,  else 

222 


THE  MUCKLEY 

you  will  be  pressed  up  by  those  behind  and  have 
to  pay  before  you  have  decided  that  you  want  to 
go  in.  When  you  fling  pennies  at  the  Mountain 
Maid  and  the  Shepherd's  Bride  they  stop  play- 
acting and  scramble  for  them.  Go  in  at  night 
when  there  are  drunk  ploughmen  to  fling  pennies. 
The  Fat  Wife  with  the  Golden  Locks  lets  you 
put  your  fingers  in  her  arms,  but  that  is  soon  over. 
4  The  Slave-driver  and  his  Victims.'  Not  worth 
the  money ;  they  are  not  blooding.  To  Jerusalem 
and  Back  in  a  Jiffy.  This  is  a  swindle.  You 
just  keek  through  holes." 

But  Elspeth  was  of  a  different  mind.  She  liked 
To  Jerusalem  and  Back  best,  and  gave  the  Slave- 
driver  and  his  Victims  a  penny  to  be  Christians. 
The  only  show  she  disliked  was  the  wax-work, 
where  was  performed  the  "  Tragedy  of  Tiffano  and 
the  Haughty  Princess."  Tiffano  loved  the  wood- 
man's daughter,  and  so  he  would  not  have  the 
Haughty  Princess,  and  so  she  got  a  magician  to 
turn  him  into  a  pumpkin,  and  then  she  ate  him. 
What  distressed  Elspeth  was  that  Tiffano  could 
never  get  to  heaven  now,  and  all  the  consolation 
Tommy,  doing  his  best,  could  give  her  was,  "  He 
could  go,  no  doubt  he  could  go,  but  he  would 
have  to  take  the  Haughty  Princess  wi'  him,  and 
he  would  be  sweer  to  do  that." 

Grizel  reflected :  "  If  I  had  a  whip  like  the  one 
the  Slave-driver  has  shouldn't  I  lash  the  boys  who 

000 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

hoot  my  mamma !  I  wish  I  could  turn  boys  into 
pumpkins.  The  Mountain  Maid  wore  a  beautiful 
muslin  with  gold  lace,  but  she  does  not  wash  hei 
neck." 

Lastly,  let  Corp  have  his  say :  "  I  looked  at  the 
outside  of  the  shows,  but  always  landed  back  at 
Californy's  stand.  Sucking  is  better  nor  near  any 
thing.  The  Teuch  and  Tasty  is  stickier  than  ever. 
I  have  lost  twa  teeth.  The  Mountain  Maid  is 
biding  all  night  at  Tibbie  Birse's,  and  I  went  in  to 
see  her.  She  had  a  bervie  and  a  boiled  egg  to  hei 
tea.  She  likes  her  eggs  saft  wi'  a  lick  of  butter  in 
them.  The  Fat  Wife  is  the  one  I  like  best.  She's 
biding  wi'  Shilpit  Kaytherine  on  the  Tanage  Brae. 
She  weighs  Jeems  and  Kaytherine  and  the  sma' 
black  swine,  She  had  an  ingin  to  her  tea.  The 
Slave-driver's  a  fushinless  body.  One  o'  the 
Victims  gives  him  his  licks.  They  a'  bide  in 
the  caravan.  You  can  stand  on  the  wheel  and 
keek  in.  They  had  herrings  wi'  the  rans  to  their 
tea.  I  cut  a  hole  in  Jerusalem  and  Back,  and 
there  was  no  Jerusalem  there.  The  man  as  ocht 
Jerusalem  greets  because  the  Fair  Circassian  winna 
take  him.  He's  biding  a'  night  wi'  Blinder.  He 
likes  a  dram  in  his  tea." 

Elspeth's  money  lasted  till  four  o'clock.  For 
Aaron,  almost  the  only  man  in  Thrums  who 
shunned  the  revels  that  day,  she  bought  a  ginger- 
bread house;  and  the  miraculous  powder  which 

224 


THE  MUCKLEY 

must  be  taken  on  a  sixpence  was  to  make  Blindef 
see  again,  but  unfortunately  he  forgot  about  put- 
ting it  on  the  sixpence.  And  of  course  there  was 
something  for  a  certain  boy.  Grizel  had  completed 
her  purchases  by  five  o'clock,  when  Tommy  was 
still  heavy  with  threepence  halfpenny.  They  in- 
cluded a  fluffy  pink  shawl,  she  did  not  say  for 
whom,  but  the  Painted  Lady  wore  it  afterwards, 
and  for  herself  another  doll. 

"  But  that  doll's  leg  is  broken,"  Tommy  pointed 
out 

"  That  was  why  I  bought  it,"  she  said  warmly, 
"  I  feel  so  sorry  for  it,  the  darling,"  and  she  carried 
it  carefully  so  that  the  poor  thing  might  suffer  as 
little  pain  as  possible. 

Twice  they  rushed  home  for  hasty  meals,  and  were 
back  so  quickly  that  Tommy's  shadow  strained  a 
muscle  in  turning  with  him.  Night  came  on,  and 
from  a  hundred  strings  stretched  along  stands  and 
shows  there  now  hung  thousands  of  long  tin  things 
like  trumpets.  One  burning  paper  could  set  a 
dozen  of  these  ablaze,  and  no  sooner  were  they  lit 
than  a  wind  that  had  been  biding  its  time  rushed 
in  like  the  merriman,  making  the  lamps  swing  on 
their  strings,  so  that  the  flaring  lights  embraced, 
and  from  a  distance  Thrums  seemed  to  be  on  fire 

Even  Grizel  was  willing  to  hold  Tommy's  hand 
now,  and  the  three  could  only  move  this  way  and 
that  as  the  roaring  crowd  carried  them.  They 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

were  not  looking  at  the  Muckley,  they  were  pail 
of  it,  and  at  last  Thrums  was  all  Tommy's  fancy 
had  painted  it.  This  intoxicated  him,  so  that  he 
had  to  scream  at  intervals,  "  We're  here,  Elspeth, 
I  tell  you,  we're  here ! "  and  he  became  pugnacious 
and  he  asked  youths  twice  his  size  whether  they 
denied  that  he  was  here,  and  if  so,  would  they 
come  on.  In  this  frenzy  he  was  seen  by  Miss 
Ailie,  who  had  stolen  out  in  a  veil  to  look  for  Ga- 
vinia,  but  just  as  she  was  about  to  reprove  him, 
dreadful  men  asked  her  was  she  in  search  of  a  lad, 
whereupon  she  fled  home  and  barred  the  door,  and 
later  in  the  evening  warned  Gavinia,  through  the 
key-hole,  taking  her  for  a  roystering  blade,  that  there 
were  policemen  in  the  house,  to  which  the  astound- 
ing reply  of  Gavinia,  then  aged  twelve,  was,  "  No 
sic  luck." 

With  the  darkness,  too,  crept  into  the  Muckley 
certain  devils  in  the  colour  of  the  night  who  spoke 
thickly  and  rolled  braw  lads  in  the  mire,  and  egged 
on  friends  to  fight  and  cast  lewd  thoughts  into  the 
minds  of  the  women.  At  first  the  men  had  been 
bashful  swains.  To  the  women's  "Gie  me  my 
faring,  Jock,"  they  had  replied,  "  Wait,  Jean,  till 
I'm  fee'd,"  but  by  night  most  had  got  their  arles, 
with  a  dram  above  it,  and  he  who  could  only 
guffaw  at  Jean  a  few  hours  ago  had  her  round  the 
waist  now,  and  still  an  arm  free  for  rough  play 
with  other  kimmers.  The  Jeans  were  as  boister- 

226 


THE  MUCKLEY 

ous  as  the  Jocks,  giving  them  leer  for  leer,  running 
from  them  with  a  giggle,  waiting  to  be  caught  and 
rudely  kissed.  Grand,  patient,  long-suffering  fel- 
lows these  men  were,  up  at  five,  summer  and  win- 
ter, foddering  their  horses,  maybe  hours  before 
there  would  be  food  for  themselves,  miserably  paid, 
housed  like  cattle,  and  when  the  rheumatism  seized 
them,  liable  to  be  flung  aside  like  a  broken  gratp. 
As  hard  was  the  life  of  the  women :  coarse  food, 
chaff  beds,  damp  clothes,  their  portion;  their 
sweethearts  in  the  service  of  masters  who  were  re- 
luctant to  fee  a  married  man.  Is  it  to  be  wondered 
that  these  lads  who  could  be  faithful  unto  death 
drank  soddenly  on  their  one  free  day,  that  these 
girls,  starved  of  opportunities  for  womanliness,  of 
which  they  could  make  as  much  as  the  finest 
lady,  sometimes  woke  after  a  Muckley  to  wish 
that  they  might  wake  no  more  ? 

Our  three  brushed  shoulders  with  the  devils  that 
had  been  let  loose,  but  hardly  saw  them;  they 
heard  them,  but  did  not  understand  their  tongue. 
The  eight-o'clock  bell  had  rung  long  since,  and 
though  the  racket  was  as  great  as  ever,  it  was  only 
because  every  reveller  left  now  made  the  noise  of 
two.  Mothers  were  out  fishing  for  their  bairns. 
The  Haggerty-Taggertys  had  straggled  home 
hoarse  as  crows ;  every  one  of  them  went  to  bed 
that  night  with  a  stocking  round  his  throat.  Of 
Monypenny  boys,  Tommy  could  find  none  in  the 

227 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

square  but  Corp,  who,  with  another  tooth  missing, 
tiad  been  going  about  since  six  o'clock  with  his 
pockets  hanging  out,  as  a  sign  that  all  was  over, 
An  awkward  silence  had  fallen  on  the  trio ;  the  rea- 
son, that  Tommy  had  only  threepence  left  and  the 
smallest  of  them  cost  threepence.  The  reference 
of  course  is  to  the  wondrous  gold-paper  packets  of 
sweets  (not  unlike  crackers  in  appearance)  which 
are  only  seen  at  the  Muckley,  and  are  what  every 
girl  claims  of  her  lad  or  lads.  Now,  Tommy  had 
vowed  to  Elspeth  —  But  he  had  also  said  to  Grizel 
—  In  short,  how  could  he  buy  for  both  with  three- 
pence ? 

Grizel,  as  the  stranger,  ought  to  get  —  But  he 
knew  Elspeth  too  well  to  believe  that  she  would 
dry  her  eyes  with  that 

Elspeth  being  his  sister — But  he  had  promised 
Grizel,  and  she  had  been  so  ill  brought  up  that 
she  said  nasty  things  when  you  broke  your  word. 

The  gold  packet  was  bought.  That  is  it  stick- 
ing out  of  Tommy's  inside  pocket.  The  girls  saw 
it  and  knew  what  was  troubling  him,  but  not  a 
word  was  spoken  now  between  the  three.  They 
set  off  for  home  self-consciously,  Tommy  the  least 
agitated  on  the  whole,  because  he  need  not  make 
up  his  mind  for  another  ten  minutes.  But  he  wished 
Grizel  would  not  look  at  him  sideways  and  then 
rock  her  arms  in  irritation.  They  passed  many 
merry-makers  homeward  bound,  many  of  them 

228 


THE  MUCKLEY 

following  a  tortuous  course,  for  the  Scottish  topei 
gives  way  first  in  the  legs,  the  Southron  in  the  other 
extremity,  and  thus  between  them  could  be  con- 
structed a  man  wholly  sober  and  another  as  drunk 
as  Chloe.  But  though  the  highway  clattered  with 
many  feet,  not  a  soul  was  in  the  double  dykes,  and 
at  the  easy  end  of  that  formidable  path  Grizel  came 
to  a  determined  stop. 

"  Good-night,"  she  said,  with  such  a  disdainful 
glance  at  Tommy. 

He  had  not  made  up  his  mind  yet,  but  he  saw 
that  it  must  be  done  now,  and  to  take  a  decisive 
step  was  always  agony  to  him,  though  once  taken 
it  ceased  to  trouble.  To  dodge  it  for  another  mo- 
ment he  said,  weakly :  "  Let's  —  let's  sit  down  a 
whiley  on  the  dyke." 

But  Grizel,  while  coveting  the  packet,  because 
she  had  never  got  a  present  in  her  life,  would  not 
shilly-shally.  "Are  you  to  give  it  to  Elspeth?" 
she  asked,  with  the  horrid  directness  that  is  so  try- 
ing to  an  intellect  like  Tommy's. 

"  N-no,"  he  said. 

"  To  Grizel  ?  "  cried  Elspeth. 

44  N-no,"  he  said  again. 

It  was  an  undignified  moment  for  a  great  boy, 
but  the  providence  that  watched  over  Tommy  until 
it  tired  of  him  came  to  his  aid  in  the  nick  of  time. 
It  took  the  form  of  the  Painted  Lady,  who  ap- 
peared suddenly  out  of  the  gloom  of  the  Double 

220 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Dykes.  Two  of  the  children  jumped,  and  the 
third  clenched  her  little  fists  to  defend  her  mamma 
if  Tommy  cast  a  word  at  her.  But  he  did  not; 
his  mouth  remained  foolishly  open.  The  Painted 
Lady  had  been  talking  cheerfully  to  herself,  but 
she  drew  back  apprehensively,  with  a  look  of  ap- 
peal on  her  face,  and  then  —  and  then  Tommy 
usaw  a  way."  He  handed  her  the  gold  packet 
"  It's  to  you,"  he  said,  "  it's — it's  your  Muckley ! " 

For  a  moment  she  was  afraid  to  take  it,  but 
when  she  knew  that  this  sweet  boy's  gift  was  genu- 
ine, she  fondled  it  and  was  greatly  flattered,  and 
dropped  him  the  quaintest  courtesy  and  then 
looked  defiantly  at  Grizel.  But  Grizel  did  not 
take  it  from  her.  Instead,  she  flung  her  arms  im- 
pulsively round  Tommy's  neck,  she  was  so  glad, 
glad,  glad. 

As  Tommy  and  Elspeth  walked  away  to  their 
home,  Elspeth  could  hear  him  breathing  heavily, 
and  occasionally  he  gave  her  a  furtive  glance. 

**  Grizel  needna  have  done  that,"  she  said, 
sharply. 

44  No,"  replied  Tommy. 

44  But  it  was  noble  of  you,"  she  continued, 
squeezing  his  hand,  44to  give  it  to  the  Painted 
Lady.  Did  you  mean  to  give  it  to  her  a'  the  time  ?  " 

•4Oh,  Elspeth!" 

44 But  did  you?" 

*  Oh,  Elspeth!" 

230 


THE  MUCKLEY 

44 That's  no  you  greeting,  is  it?"  she  asked, 
softly, 

"  I'm  near  the  greeting,"  he  said  truthfully, 
"but  Pm  no  sure  what  about."  His  sympathy 
was  so  easily  aroused  that  he  sometimes  cried 
without  exactly  knowing  why. 

"  It's  because  you're  so  good,"  Elspeth  told  him; 
but  presently  she  said,  with  a  complete  change  of 
voice,  "  No,  Grizel  needna  have  done  that." 

"  It  was  a  shameful  thing  to  do,"  Tommy  agreed, 
shaking  his  head.  "  But  she  did  it ! "  he  added, 
triumphantly ;  "  you  saw  her  do  it,  Elspeth f " 

"But  you  didna  like  it?"  Elspeth  asked,  in 
terror, 

"  No,  of  course  I  didna  like  it,  but  —  " 

"But  what,  Tommy?" 

"  But  I  liked  her  to  like  it,"  he  admitted,  and 
by  and  by  he  began  to  laugh  hysterically,  "  I'm 
no  sure  what  I'm  laughing  at,"  he  said,  "  but  I 
think  it's  at  mysel'."  He  may  have  laughed  at 
himself  before,  but  this  Muckley  is  memorable  as 
the  occasion  on  which  he  first  caught  himself  do- 
ing it.  The  joke  grew  with  the  years,  until  some- 
times he  laughed  in  his  most  emotional  moments, 
suddenly  seeing  himself  in  his  true  light  But  it 
had  become  a  bittei  laugh  by  that  time.. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

CORP  IS   BROUGHT  TO   HEEL— GRIZEL  DEFIANT 

CORP  SHIACH  was  a  bare-footed  colt  of  a  boy,  of 
ungainly  build,  with  a  nose  so  thick  and  turned  up 
that  it  was  a  certificate  of  character,  and  his  hands 
were  covered  with  warts,  which  he  had  a  trick  of 
biting  till  they  bled.  Then  he  rubbed  them  on 
his  trousers,  which  were  the  picturesque  part  of 
him,  for  he  was  at  present  "  serving"  to  the  masons 
(he  had  "  earned  his  keep  "  since  long  before  he 
could  remember),  and  so  wore  the  white  or  yellow 
ducks  which  the  dust  of  the  quarry  stains  a  rarer 
orange  colour  than  is  known  elsewhere.  The  orange 
of  the  masons'  trousers,  the  blue  of  the  hearth- 
stones, these  are  the  most  beautiful  colours  to  be 
seen  in  Thrums,  though  of  course  Corp  was  un- 
aware of  it  He  was  really  very  good-natured, 
and  only  used  his  fists  freely  because  of  imagina- 
tion he  had  none,  and  thinking  made  him  sweat, 
and  consequently  the  simplest  way  of  proving  his 
case  was  to  say,  "  I'll  fight  you."  What  might 
have  been  the  issue  of  a  conflict  between  him  and 
Shovel  was  a  problem  for  Tommy  to  puzzle  over. 
Shovel  was  as  quick  as  Corp  was  deliberate,  and 

232 


CORP   IS  BROUGHT  TO   HEEL 

would  have  danced  round  him,  putting  in  unex- 
pected ones,  but  if  he  had  remained  just  one 
moment  too  long  within  Corp's  reach 

They  nicknamed  him  Corp  because  he  took 
fits,  when  he  lay  like  one  dead.  He  was  proud  of 
his  fits,  was  Corp,  but  they  were  a  bother  to  him, 
too,  because  he  could  make  so  little  of  them. 
They  interested  doctors  and  other  carriage  folk, 
who  came  to  his  aunt's  house  to  put  their  fingers 
into  him,  and  gave  him  sixpence,  and  would  have 
given  him  more,  but  when  they  pressed  him  to  tell 
them  what  he  remembered  about  his  fits,  he  could 
only  answer  dejectedly,  "  Not  a  damned  thing." 

"  You  might  as  well  no  have  them  ava,"  his 
wrathful  aunt,  with  whom  he  lived,  would  say, 
and  she  thrashed  him  until  his  size  forbade  it. 

Soon  after  the  Muckley  came  word  that  the 
Lady  of  the  Spittal  was  to  be  brought  to  see  Corp 
by  Mn  Ogilvy,  the  school-master  of  Glen  Quhar- 
ity,  and  at  first  Corp  boasted  of  it,  but  as  the 
appointed  day  drew  near  he  became  uneasy. 

"  The  worst  o't,"  he  said  to  anyone  who  would 
listen,  "  is  that  my  auntie  is  to  be  away  frae  hame, 
and  so  they'll  put  a*  their  questions  to  me." 

The  Haggerty-Taggertys  and  Birkie  were  so 
jealous  that  they  said  they  were  glad  they  never 
had  fits,  but  Tommy  made  no  such  pretence. 

44  Oh,  Corp,  if  I  had  thae  fits  of  yours ! "  he 
exclaimed  greedily. 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"  If  they  were  mine  to  give  awa',"  replh  d  Corp 
sullenly,  "you  could  have  them  and  welcome." 
Grown  meek  in  his  trouble,  he  invited  Tommy 
to  speak  freely,  with  the  result  that  his  eyes  were 
partially  opened  to  the  superiority  of  that  boy's 
attainments.  Tommy  told  him  a  number  of  in- 
teresting things  to  say  to  Mr.  Ogilvy  and  the  lady 
about  his  fits,  about  how  queer  he  felt  just  before 
they  came  on,  and  the  visions  he  had  while  he 
was  lying  stiff.  But  though  the  admiring  Corp 
gave  attentive  ear,  he  said  hopelessly,  next  day, 
"Not  a  dagont  thing  do  I  mind.  When  they 
question  me  about  my  fits  I'll  just  say  I'm  some- 
times in  them  and  sometimes  out  oj  them,  and  if 
they  badger  me  more,  I  can  aye  kick." 

Tommy  gave  him  a  look  that  meant,  "  Fits  are 
just  wasted  on  you,"  and  Corp  replied  with  an- 
other that  meant,  "  I  ken  they  are."  Then  they 
parted,  one  of  them  to  reflect 

"  Corp,"  he  said  excitedly,  when  next  they  met, 
"has  Mr.  Ogilvy  or  the  lady  ever  come  to  see 
you  afore?" 

They  had  not,  and  Corp  was  able  to  swear  that 
they  did  not  even  know  him  by  sight 

"  They  dinna  ken  me  either,"  said  Tommy. 

"What  does  that  matter?"  asked  Corp,  but 
Tommy  was  too  full  to  speak.  He  had  "  found 
a  way." 

The  lady  and  Mr.  Ogilvy  found  Corp  such  a 

234 


CORP   IS   BROUGHT   TO   HEEL 

success  that  the  one  gave  him  a  shilling  and  the 
other  took  down  his  reminiscences  in  a  note-book. 
But  if  you  would  hear  of  the  rings  of  blue  and 
white  and  yellow  Corp  saw,  and  of  the  other  ex- 
traordinary experiences  he  described  himself  as 
having  when  in  a  fit,  you  need  not  search  that 
note-book,  for  the  page  has  been  torn  out.  In- 
stead of  making  inquiries  of  Mr.  Ogilvy,  try  any 
other  dominie  in  the  district,  Mr.  Cathro,  for  in- 
stance, who  delighted  to  tell  the  tale.  This  of 
course  was  when  it  leaked  out  that  Tommy  had 
personated  Corp,  by  arrangement  with  the  real 
Corp,  who  was  listening  in  rapture  beneath  the 
bed. 

Tommy,  who  played  his  part  so  well  that  he 
came  out  of  it  in  a  daze,  had  Corp  at  heel  from 
that  hour.  He  told  him  what  a  rogue  he  had 
been  in  London,  and  Corp  cried  admiringly, 
"  Oh,  you  deevil !  oh,  you  queer  little  deevil ! " 
and  sometimes  it  was  Elspeth  who  was  narrator, 
and  then  Tommy's  noble  acts  were  the  subject; 
but  still  Corp's  comment  was  "  Oh,  the  deevil !  oh, 
the  queer  little  deevil ! "  Elspeth  was  flattered  by 
his  hero-worship,  but  his  language  shocked  her, 
and  after  consulting  Miss  Ailie  she  advised  him 
to  count  twenty  when  he  felt  an  oath  coming,  at 
the  end  of  which  exercise  the  desire  to  swear  would 
have  passed  away.  Good-natured  Corp  willingly 
promised  to  try  this,  but  he  was  never  hopeful, 

23  C 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

and  as  he  explained  to  Tommy,  after  a  failure,  "  It 
just  made  me  waur  than  ever,  for  when  1  had 
counted  the  twenty  I  said  a  big  Damn,  thoughtful 
like,  and  syne  out  jumpit  three  little  damns,  like 
as  if  the  first  ane  had  cleckit  in  my  mouth." 

It  was  fortunate  that  Elspeth  liked  Corp  on  the 
whole,  for  during  the  three  years  now  to  be  rapidly 
passed  over,  Tommy  took  delight  in  his  society, 
though  he  never  treated  him  as  an  equal;  Corp 
indeed  did  not  expect  that,  and  was  humbly  grate- 
ful for  what  he  got.  In  summer,  fishing  was  theii 
great  diversion.  They  would  set  off  as  early  as 
four  in  the  morning,  fishing  wands  in  hand,  and 
scour  the  world  tor  trout,  plodding  home  in  the 
gloaming  with  stones  in  their  fishing-basket  to  de 
ceive  those  who  felt  its  weight  In  the  long  win- 
ter nights  they  liked  best  to  listen  to  Bltnder's  tales 
of  the  Thrums  Jacobites,  tales  never  put  into  writ- 
ing, but  handed  down  from  father  to  son,  and  proved 
true  in  the  oddest  of  ways,  as  by  Blinder's  trick  of 
involuntarily  holding  out  his  hands  to  a  fire  when 
he  found  himselt  near  one,  though  he  might  be 
sweating  to  the  shirt  and  the  time  a  July  forenoon, 
"  I  make  no  doubt,"  he  told  them,  "  as  I  do  that 
because  my  forebear,  Buchan  Osier  (called  Buchan 
wi'  the  Haap  after  the  wars  was  ower),  had  to  hod 
so  lang  frae  the  troopers,  and  them  so  greedy  foi 
him  that  he  daredna  crawl  to  a  fire  once  in  an 
eight  days/' 

236 


CORP  IS  BROUGHT   TO   HEEL 

The  Lord  of  the  Spittal  and  handsome  Captain 
Body  (whose  being  "out"  made  all  the  women 
anxious)  marched  through  the  Den,  flapping  their 
wings  at  the  head  of  a  fearsome  retinue,  and  the 
Thrums  folk  looked  so  glum  at  them  that  gay 
Captain  Body  said  he  should  kiss  every  lass  who 
did  not  cheer  for  Charlie,  and  none  cheered,  but 
at  the  same  time  none  ran  away.  Few  in  Thrums 
cared  a  doit  for  Charlie,  but  some  hung  on  behind 
this  troop  till  there  was  no  turning  back  for  them, 
and  one  of  these  was  Buchan.  He  forced  his  wife 
to  give  Captain  Body  a  white  rose  from  her  bush 
by  the  door,  but  a  thorn  in  it  pricked  the  gallant, 
and  the  blood  from  his  fingers  fell  on  the  bush, 
and  from  that  year  it  grew  red  roses. 

44  If  you  dinna  believe  me,"  Blinder  said,  "  look 
if  the  roses  is  no  red  on  the  bush  at  Pyotdykes, 
which  was  a  split  frae  Buchan's,  and  speir  whether 
they're  no  named  the  blood  rose." 

"  I  believe  you,"  Tommy  would  say  breath- 
lessly: "go  on." 

Captain  Body  was  back  in  the  Den  by  and  by, 
but  he  had  no  thought  of  preeing  lasses'  mouths 
now.  His  face  was  scratched  and  haggard  and  his 
gay  coat  torn,  and  when  he  crawled  to  the  Cuttle 
Well  he  caught  some  of  the  water  in  his  bonnet 
and  mixed  meal  with  it,  stirring  the  precious  com- 
pound with  his  finger  and  using  the  loof  of  his  hand 
as  a  spoon.  Every  stick  of  furniture  Buchan  and 

10-7 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

the  other  Thrums  rebels  possessed  was  seized  by 
the  government  and  rouped  in  the  market-place  of 
Thrums,  but  few  would  bid  against  the  late  owners, 
for  whom  the  things  were  secretly  bought  back  very 
cheaply. 

To  these  and  many  similar  stories  Tommy  list- 
ened open-mouthed,  seeing  the  scene  far  more 
vividly  than  the  narrator,  who  became  alarmed  at 
his  quick,  loud  breathing,  and  advised  him  to  for- 
get them  and  go  back  to  his  lessons.  But  his  les- 
sons never  interested  Tommy,  and  he  would  go 
into  the  Den  instead,  and  repeat  Blinder's  legends, 
with  embellishments  which  made  them  so  real  that 
Corp  and  Elspeth  and  Grizel  were  afraid  to  look  be- 
hind them  lest  the  spectre  of  Captain  Body  should 
be  standing  there,  leaning  on  a  ghostly  sword. 

At  such  times  Elspeth  kept  a  firm  grip  of 
Tommy's  hand,  but  one  evening  as  they  all  ran 
panic-stricken  from  some  imaginary  alarm,  she 
lost  him  near  the  Cuttle  Well,  and  then,  as  it 
seemed  to  her,  the  Den  became  suddenly  very 
dark  and  lonely.  At  first  she  thought  she  had  it 
to  herself,  but  as  she  stole  timidly  along  the  pink 
path  she  heard  voices,  and  she  cried  "  Tommy !  * 
joyously.  But  no  answer  came,  so  it  could  not  be 
Tommy.  Then  she  thought  it  must  be  a  pair  of 
lovers,  but  next  moment  she  stood  transfixed  with 
fear,  for  it  was  the  Painted  Lady,  who  was  coming 
along  the  path  talking  aloud  to  herself.  No,  not 

238 


CORP   IS   BROUGHT  TO   HEEL 

to  herself — to  someone  she  evidently  thought  was 
by  her  side ;  she  called  him  darling  and  other  sweet 
names,  and  waited  for  his  replies  and  nodded 
pleased  assent  to  them,  or  pouted  at  them,  and 
terrified  Elspeth  knew  that  she  was  talking  to  the 
man  who  never  came. 

When  she  saw  Elspeth  she  stopped  irresolutely, 
and  the  two  stood  looking  in  fear  at  each  other. 
44  You  are  not  my  brat,  are  you  ?  "  the  Painted 
Lady  asked. 

"N-no,"  the  child  gasped. 

"  Then  why  don't  you  call  me  nasty  names  ?  " 

"  I  dinna  never  call  you  names,"  Elspeth  replied, 
but  the  woman  still  looked  puzzled. 

"  Perhaps  you  are  naughty  also  ? "  she  said 
doubtfully,  and  then,  as  if  making  up  her  mind 
that  it  must  be  so,  she  came  closer  and  said,  with 
a  voice  full  of  pity :  "  I  am  so  sorry." 

Elspeth  did  not  understand  half  of  it,  but  the 
pitying  voice,  which  was  of  the  rarest  sweetness, 
drove  away  much  of  her  fear,  and  she  said :  '*  Do 
you  no  mind  me  ^  I  was  wi'  Tommy  when  he 
gave  you  the  gold  packet  on  Muckley  night" 

Then  the  Painted  Lady  remembered,  "He 
took  such  a  fancy  to  me,"  she  said,  with  a  pleased 
simper,  and  then  she  looked  serious  again. 

"  Do  you  love  him  ?  "  she  asked,  and  Elspeth 
nodded. 

"  But  is  he  all  the  world  to  you  ?  '* 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

u  Yes,"  Elspeth  said 

The  Painted  Lady  took  her  by  the  arm  and 
said  impressively,  "  Don't  let  him  know." 

44  But  he  does  know,"  said  Elspeth, 

*'  I  am  so  sorry,"  the  Painted  Lady  said  again, 
44  When  they  know  too  well,  then  they  have  no 
pity." 

"But  I  want  Tommy  to  know,"  Elspeth  in- 
sisted. 

"That  is  the  woful  thing,"  the  Painted  Lady 
said,  rocking  her  arms  in  a  way  that  reminded  the 
child  of  Grizel.  "  We  want  them  to  know,  we 
cannot  help  liking  them  to  know ! " 

Suddenly  she  became  confidential  "  Do  you 
think  I  showed  my  love  too  openly  ?  "  she  asked 
eagerly.  "  I  tried  to  hide  it,  you  know.  I  covered 
my  face  with  my  hands,  but  he  pulled  them  away, 
and  then,  of  course,  he  knew." 

She  went  on,  "  I  kissed  his  horse's  nose,  and  he 
said  I  did  that  because  it  was  his  horse.  How 
could  he  know  ?  When  I  asked  him  how  he 
knew,  he  kissed  me,  and  I  pretended  to  be  angry 
and  ran  away.  But  I  was  not  angry,  and  I  said  to 
myself,  *  I  am  glad,  I  am  glad,  I  am  glad ! ' 

"  I  wanted  so  to  be  good,  but  —  It  is  so  difficult 
to  refuse  when  you  love  him  very  much,  don't  you 
think  ?  " 

The  pathos  of  that  was  lost  on  the  girl,  and  the 
Painted  Lady  continued  sadly :  *4  It  would  be  so 

240 


CORP   IS   BROUGHT   TO   HEEL 

nice,  would  it  not,  if  they  liked  us  to  be  good  ?  I 
think  it  would  be  sweet."  She  bent  forward  and 
whispered  emphatically,  "But  they  don't,  you 
know  —  it  bores  them. 

"  Never  bore  them  —  and  they  are  so  easily 
bored !  It  bores  them  if  you  say  you  want  to  be 
married.  I  think  it  would  be  sweet  to  be  married, 
but  you  should  never  ask  for  a  wedding.  They 
give  you  everything  else,  but  if  you  say  you  want 
a  wedding,  they  stamp  their  feet  and  go  away. 
Why  are  you  crying,  girl  ?  You  should  not  cry ; 
they  don't  like  it.  Put  on  your  prettiest  gown 
and  laugh  and  pretend  you  are  happy,  and  then 
they  will  tell  you  naughty  stories  and  give  you 
these."  She  felt  her  ears  and  looked  at  her  fingers, 
on  which  there  may  once  have  been  jewels,  but 
there  were  none  now. 

"  If  you  cry  you  lose  your  complexion,  and 
then  they  don't  love  you  any  more.  I  had  always 
such  a  beautiful  skin.  Some  ladies  when  they 
lose  their  complexion  paint:  Horrid,  isn't  it?  I 
wonder  they  can  do  such  a  thing." 

She  eyed  Elspeth  suspiciously.  "But  of  course 
you  might  do  it  just  a  little,"  she  said  pleadingly 
-"just  to  make  them  go  on  loving  you,  don't 
you  think  *? 

"  When  they  don't  want  to  come  any  more  they 
write  you  a  letter,  and  you  run  with  it  to  your 
room  and  kiss  it,  because  you  don't  know  what  is 

241 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

inside.  Then  you  open  it,  and  that  breaks  your 
heart,  you  know."  She  nodded  her  head  saga- 
ciously and  smiled  with  tears  in  her  eyes.  "  Never, 
never,  never  open  the  letter.  Keep  it  unopened 
on  your  breast,  and  then  you  can  always  think  that 
he  may  come  to-morrow.  And  if " 

Someone  was  approaching,  and  she  stopped  and 
listened.  "  My  brat ! "  she  cried  furiously,  "  she  is 
always  following  me,"  and  she  poured  forth  a  tor- 
rent of  filthy  abuse  of  Grizel,  in  the  midst  of  which 
Tommy  (for  it  was  he)  appeared  and  carried  El- 
speth  off  hastily.  This  was  the  only  conversation 
either  child  ever  had  with  the  Painted  Lady,  and 
it  bore  bad  fruit  for  Grizel.  Elspeth  told  some  of 
the  Monypenny  women  about  it,  and  they  thought 
it  their  duty  to  point  out  to  Aaron  that  the  Painted 
Lady  and  her  child  were  not  desirable  acquaintances 
for  Tommy  and  Elspeth. 

"I  dinna  ken,"  he  answered  sharply,  "whether 
Tommy's  a  fit  acquaintance  for  Grizel,  but  I'm 
very  sure  o'  this,  that  she's  more  than  a  fit  acquain- 
tance for  him.  And  look  at  what  she  has  done 
for  this  house.  I  kenna  what  we  should  do  if  she 
didna  come  in  nows  and  nans." 

"You  ken  well,  Aaron,"  they  said,  "that  ony- 
thing  we  could  do  in  the  way  o'  keeping  your 
house  in  order  we  should  do  gladly." 

"  Thank  you,"  he  replied  ungraciously,  "but  I 
would  rather  have  her." 

24* 


CORP   IS   BROUGHT   TO   HEEL 

Nevertheless  he  agreed  that  he  ought  to  forbid 
any  intercourse  with  the  Painted  Lady,  and  unfor- 
tunately Grizel  heard  of  this.  Probably  there 
never  would  have  been  any  such  intercourse; 
Grizel  guarded  against  it  more  than  anyone,  for 
reasons  she  never  spoke  of,  but  she  resented  this 
veto  proudly. 

"  Why  must  you  not  speak  to  my  mamma  ?  " 
she  demanded  of  Tommy  and  Elspeth. 

"  Because — because  she  is  a  queer  one,"  he  said. 

"She  is  not  a  queer  one  —  she  is  just  sweet." 

He  tried  to  evade  the  question  by  saying  weakly, 
"  We  never  see  her  to  speak  to  at  any  rate,  so  it 
will  make  no  difference.  It's  no  as  if  you  ever 
asked  us  to  come  to  Double  Dykes." 

"  But  I  ask  you  now,"  said  Grizel,  with  flashing 
eyes. 

"  Oh,  I  darena ! "  cried  Elspeth. 

"  Then  I  won't  ever  come  into  your  house  again," 
said  Grizel  decisively. 

"  No  to  redd  up  *? "  asked  Tommy,  incredu- 
lously. "  No  to  bake  nor  to  iron  *?  You  couldna 
help  it." 

"  Yes  I  could." 

"  Think  what  you'll  miss ! " 

Grizel  might  have  retorted,  "Think  what  you 
will  miss ! "  but  perhaps  the  reply  she  did  make 
had  a  sharper  sting  in  it.  "I  shall  never  come 
again,"  she  said,  loftily,  "and  my  reason  for  not 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

coming  is  that  —  that  my  mamma  thinks  your 
house  is  not  respectable ! "  She  flung  this  over 
her  shoulder  as  she  stalked  away,  and  it  may  be 
that  the  tears  came  when  there  were  none  to  see 
them,  but  hers  was  a  resolute  mind,  and  though 
she  continued  to  be  friendly  with  Tommy  and  El- 
speth  out  of  doors  she  never  again  crossed  their 
threshold. 

"The  house  is  in  a  terrible  state  for  want  o* 
you,"  Tommy  would  say,  trying  to  wheedle  her. 
"  We  hinna  sanded  the  floor  for  months,  and  the 
box-iron  has  fallen  ahint  the  dresser,  and  my  gray 
sark  is  rove  up  the  back,  and  oh,  you  should  just 
see  the  holes  in  Aaron's  stockings ! " 

Then  Grizel  rocked  her  arms  in  agony,  but  no, 
she  would  not  go  in. 


144 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  SHADOW  OF  SIR   WALTER 

TOMMY  was  in  Miss  Ailie's  senior  class  now,  though 
by  no  means  at  the  top  of  it,  and  her  mind  was 
often  disturbed  about  his  future.  On  this  subject 
Aaron  had  never  spoken  to  anyone,  and  the  prob- 
lem gave  Tommy  himself  so  little  trouble  that  all 
Elspeth  knew  was  that  he  was  to  be  great  and  that 
she  was  to  keep  his  house.  So  the  school-mistress 
braved  an  interview  with  Aaron  for  the  sake  of  her 
favourite. 

"  You  know  he  is  a  remarkable  boy,"  she  said. 

"  At  his  lessons,  ma'am  *?  "  asked  Aaron,  quietly. 

Not  exactly  at  his  lessons,  she  had  to  admit. 

"  In  what  way,  then,  ma'am  ?  " 

Really  Miss  Ailie  could  not  say.  There  was 
something  wonderful  about  Tommy,  you  felt  it, 
but  you  could  not  quite  give  it  a  name.  The 
warper  must  have  noticed  it  himself. 

"  I've  heard  him  saying  something  o'  the  kind 
to  Elspeth,"  was  Aaron's  reply. 

"  But  sometimes  he  is  like  a  boy  inspired,"  said 
the  school-mistress.  "  You  must  have  seen  that  ?  " 

24; 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

"  When  he  was  thinking  o'  himsely  answered 
Aaron. 

"  He  has  such  noble  sentiments." 

"  He  has." 

"  And  I  think,  I  really  think,"  said  Miss  Ailie, 
eagerly,  for  this  was  what  she  had  come  to  say, 
"  that  he  has  got  great  gifts  for  the  ministry." 

"  I'm  near  sure  o't,"  said  Aaron,  grimly. 

"  Ah,  I  see  you  don't  like  him." 

"  I  dinna,"  the  warper  acknowledged  quietly, 
"  but  I've  been  trying  to  do  my  duty  by  him  for 
all  that.  It's  no  every  laddie  that  gets  three  years' 
schooling  straight  on  end." 

This  was  true,  but  Miss  Ailie  used  it  to  press 
her  point.  "  You  have  done  so  well  by  him,"  she 
said, "  that  I  think  you  should  keep  him  at  school 
for  another  year  or  two,  and  so  give  him  a  chance 
of  carrying  a  bursary.  If  he  carries  one  it  will 
support  him  at  college;  if  he  does  not  —  well, 
then  I  suppose  he  must  be  apprenticed  to  some 
trade." 

"  No,"  Aaron  said,  decisively ;  "  if  he  gets  the 
chance  of  a  college  education  and  flings  it  awa', 
I'll  waste  no  more  siller  on  his  keep.  I'll  send 
him  straight  to  the  herding." 

"And  I  shall  not  blame  you,"  Miss  Ailie  de- 
clared eagerly. 

"  Though  I  would  a  hantle  rather,"  continued 
the  warper,  "  waur  my  money  on  Elspeth." 

246 


THE   SHADOW   OF   SIR   WALTER 

"  What  you  spend  on  him,"  Miss  Ailie  argued, 
"  you  will  really  be  spending  on  her,  for  if  he  rises 
in  the  world  he  will  not  leave  Elspeth  behind. 
You  are  prejudiced  against  him,  but  you  cannot 
deny  that." 

"  I  dinna  deny  but  what  he's  fond  o*  her,"  said 
Aarcn,  and  after  considering  the  matter  for  some 
days  he  decided  that  Tommy  should  get  his  chance. 
The  school-mistress  had  not  acted  selfishly,  for  this 
decision,  as  she  knew,  meant  that  the  boy  must 
now  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Cathro,  who 
was  a  Greek  and  Latin  scholar.  She  taught  Latin 
herself  it  is  true,  but  as  cautiously  as  she  crossed 
a  plank  bridge,  and  she  was  never  comfortable  in 
the  dominie's  company,  because  even  at  a  tea-table 
he  would  refer  familiarly  to  the  ablative  absolute 
instead  of  letting  sleeping  dogs  lie. 

"  But  Elspeth  couldna  be  happy  if  we  were  at 
different  schools,"  Tommy  objected  instantly. 

"Yes,  I  could,"  said  Elspeth,  who  had  been 
won  over  by  Miss  Ailie ;  "  it  will  be  so  fine, 
Tommy,  to  see  you  again  after  I  hinna  seen  you 
for  three  hours." 

Tommy  was  little  known  to  Mr.  Cathro  at  this 
time,  except  as  the  boy  who  had  got  the  better  of 
a  rival  teacher  in  the  affair  of  Corp,  which  had  de- 
lighted him  greatly.  "  But  if  the  sacket  thinks 
he  can  play  any  of  his  tricks  on  me,"  he  told 
Aaron,  "  there  is  an  awakening  before  him,"  and 

247 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

he  began  the  cramming  of  Tommy  for  a  bursary 
with  perfect  confidence. 

But  before  the  end  of  the  month,  at  the  mere 
mention  of  Tommy's  name,  Mr.  Cathro  turned 
red  in  the  face,  and  the  fingers  of  his  laying-on 
hand  would  clutch  an  imaginary  pair  of  tawse 
Already  Tommy  had  made  him  self-conscious.  He 
peered  covertly  at  Tommy,  and  Tommy  caught 
him  at  it  every  time,  and  then  each  quickly  looked 
another  way,  and  Cathro  vowed  never  to  look 
again,  but  did  it  next  minute,  and  what  enraged 
him  most  was  that  he  knew  Tommy  noted  his  at- 
tempts at  self-restraint  as  well  as  his  covert  glances. 
All  the  other  pupils  knew  that  a  change  for  the 
worse  had  come  over  the  dominie's  temper.  They 
saw  him  punish  Tommy  frequently  without  per- 
ceptible cause,  and  that  he  was  still  unsatisfied 
when  the  punishment  was  over.  This  apparently 
was  because  Tommy  gave  him  a  look  before  re- 
turning to  his  seat.  When  they  had  been  wal- 
loped they  gave  Cathro  a  look  also,  but  it  merely 
meant,  "  Oh,  that  this  was  a  dark  road  and  I  had 
a  divot  in  my  hand ! "  while  his  look  was  unread- 
able, that  is  unreadable  to  them,  for  the  dominie 
understood  it  and  writhed.  What  it  said  was, 
"  You  think  me  a  wonder,  and  therefore  I  forgive 
you." 

"And  sometimes  he  fair  beats  Cathro!"     So 
Tommy's  schoolmates  reported  at  home,  and  the 

248 


THE   SHADOW   OF   SIR   WALTER 

dominie  had  to  acknowledge  its  truth  to  Aaron. 
"  I  wish  you  would  give  that  sacket  a  thrashing 
for  me,"  he  said,  half  furiously,  yet  with  a  grin  on 
his  face,  one  day  when  he  and  the  warper  chanced 
to  meet  on  the  Monypenny  road. 

"  I'll  no  lay  a  hand  on  bairn  oj  Jean  Myles," 
Aaron  replied.  "Ay,  and  I  understood  you  to 
say  that  he  should  meet  his  match  in  you." 

"Did  I  ever  say  that,  man?  Well,  well,  we 
live  and  learn." 

"  What  has  he  been  doing  now  ?  " 

"What  has  he  been  doing!"  echoed  Cathro. 
"  He  has  been  making  me  look  foolish  in  my  own 
class-room.  Yes,  sir,  he  has  so  completely  got  the 
better  of  me  (and  not  for  the  first  time)  that  when 
I  tell  the  story  of  how  he  diddled  Mr.  Ogilvy, 
Mr.  Ogilvy  will  be  able  to  cap  it  with  the  story  of 
how  the  little  whelp  diddled  me.  Upon  my  soul, 
Aaron,  he  is  running  away  with  all  my  self-respect 
and  destroying  my  sense  of  humour." 

What  had  so  crushed  the  dominie  was  the  affair 
of  Francie  Crabb.  Francie  was  now  a  pupil,  like 
Gavin  Dishart  and  Tommy,  of  Mr.  Cathro's,  who 
detested  the  boy's  golden  curls,  perhaps  because  he 
was  bald  himself.  They  were  also  an  incentive 
to  evil-doing  on  the  part  of  other  boys,  who  must 
give  them  a  tug  in  passing,  and  on  a  day  the  dom- 
inie said,  in  a  fury,  "  Give  your  mother  my  com- 
pliments, Francie,  and  tell  her  I'm  so  tired  of  see- 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

ing  your  curls  that  I  mean  to  cut  them  off  to-mor- 
row morning." 

"  Say  he  shall  not,"  whispered  Tommy. 

"  You  shanna ! "  blurted  out  Francie. 

"  But  I  will,"  said  Cathro;  "  I  would  do  it  now 
if  I  had  the  shears." 

It  was  only  an  empty  threat,  but  an  hour  after- 
wards the  dominie  caught  Tommy  wagering  in 
witchy  marbles  and  other  coin  that  he  would  not 
do  it,  and  then  instead  of  taking  the  tawse  to  him 
he  said,  "  Keep  him  to  his  bargains,  laddies,  for 
whatever  may  have  been  my  intention  at  the  time, 
I  mean  to  be  as  good  as  my  word  now." 

He  looked  triumphantly  at  Tommy,  who,  how- 
ever, instead  of  seeming  crestfallen,  continued  to 
bet,  and  now  the  other  boys  were  eager  to  close 
with  him,  for  great  was  their  faith  in  Cathro. 
These  transactions  were  carried  out  on  the  sly,  but 
the  dominie  knew  what  was  going  on,  and  de- 
spite his  faith  in  himself  he  had  his  twitches  of 
uneasiness. 

"  However,  the  boy  can  only  be  trusting  to  fear 
of  Mrs.  Crabb  restraining  me,"  he  decided,  and  he 
marched  into  the  school-room  next  morning,  os- 
tentatiously displaying  his  wife's  largest  scissors. 
His  pupils  crowded  in  after  him,  and  though  he 
noticed  that  all  were  strangely  quiet  and  many 
wearing  scared  faces,  he  put  it  down  to  the  coming 
scene.  He  could  not  resist  giving  one  triumphant 

2  CO 


THE   SHADOW   OF   SIR   WALTER 

glance  at  Tommy,  who,  however,  instead  of  return- 
ing it,  looked  modestly  down.  Then  —  "  Is  Francie 
Crabb  here  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Cathro,  firmly. 

"  He's  hodding  ahint  the  press,"  cried  a  dozen 
voices. 

"Come  forward,  Francie,"  said  the  dominie, 
clicking  the  shears  to  encourage  him. 

There  was  a  long  pause,  and  then  Francie 
emerged  in  fear  from  behind  the  press.  Yes,  it 
was  Francie,  but  his  curls  were  gone ! 

The  shears  fell  to  the  floor.  "  Who  did  this  ?  " 
roared  the  terrible  Cathro. 

"  It  was  Tommy  Sandys,"  blurted  out  Francie, 
in  tears. 

The  school-master  was  unable  to  speak,  and, 
alarmed  at  the  stillness,  Francie  whined,  "  He  said 
it  would  be  done  at  ony  rate,  and  he  promised  me 
half  his  winnings." 

It  is  still  remembered  by  bearded  men  and  mar- 
ried women  who  were  at  school  that  day  how  Ca- 
thro leaped  three  forms  to  get  at  Tommy,  and  how 
Tommy  cried  under  the  tawse  and  yet  laughed 
ecstatically  at  the  same  time,  and  how  subsequently 
he  and  Francie  collected  so  many  dues  that  the 
pockets  of  them  stood  out  like  brackets  from  their 
little  persons. 

The  dominie  could  not  help  grinning  a  little 
at  his  own  discomfiture  as  he  told  this  story,  but 
Aaron  saw  nothing  amusing  in  it.  "  As  I  telled 

2C1 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

you,"  he  repeated,  "  I  winna  touch  him,  so  if  you're 
no  content  wi'  what  you've  done  yoursel',  you  had 
better  put  Francie's  mither  on  him." 

"  I  hear  she  has  taken  him  in  hand  already,"  Mr. 
Cathro  replied  dryly.  "  But,  Aaron,  I  wish  you 
would  at  least  keep  him  closer  to  his  lessons  at 
night,  for  it  is  seldom  he  comes  to  the  school  well 
prepared." 

"  I  see  him  sitting  lang  ower  his  books,"  said 
Aaron. 

"Ay,  maybe,  but  is  he  at  them?"  responded 
the  dominie  with  a  shake  of  the  head  that  made 
Aaron  say,  with  his  first  show  of  interest  in  the 
conversation,  "  You  have  little  faith  in  his  carrying 
a  bursary,  I  see." 

But  this  Mr.  Cathro  would  not  admit,  for  if  he 
thought  Tommy  a  numskull  the  one  day  he  often 
saw  cause  to  change  his  mind  the  next,  so  he  an- 
swered guardedly,  "  It's  too  soon  to  say,  Aaron, 
for  he  has  eighteen  months'  stuffing  to  undergo 
yet  before  we  send  him  to  Aberdeen  to  try  his  for- 
tune, and  I  have  filled  some  gey  toom  wimes  in 
eighteen  months.  But  you  must  lend  me  a  hand." 

The  weaver  considered,  and  then  replied  stub- 
bornly, "  No,  I  give  him  his  chance,  but  I'll  have 
nocht  to  do  wi'  his  use  o't.  And,  dominie,  I  want 
you  to  say  not  another  word  to  me  about  him 
atween  this  and  examination  time,  for  my  mind's 
made  up  no  to  say  a  word  to  him.  It's  well  kent 

252 


THE   SHADOW    OF   SIR   WALTER 

that  I'm  no  more  fit  to  bring  up  bairns  than  to 
have  them  (dinna  conter  me,  man,  for  the  thing 
was  proved  lang  syne  at  the  Cuttle  Well),  and  so 
till  that  time  I'll  let  him  gang  his  ain  gait.  But 
if  he  doesna  carry  a  bursary,  to  the  herding  he 
goes.  I've  said  it  and  I'll  stick  to  it." 

So,  as  far  as  Aaron  was  concerned,  Tommy  was 
left  in  peace  to  the  glory  of  collecting  his  winnings 
from  those  who  had  sworn  by  Cathro,  and  among 
them  was  Master  Gavin  Ogilvy  Dishart,  who  now 
found  himself  surrounded  by  a  debt  of  sixpence,  a 
degrading  position  for  the  son  of  an  Auld  Licht 
minister. 

Tommy  would  not  give  him  time,  but  was 
willing  to  take  his  copy  of  "  Waverley"  as  full 
payment. 

Gavin  offered  him  "  Ivanhoe  "  instead,  because 
his  mother  had  given  a  read  of  "  Waverley  "  to 
Gavinia,  Miss  Ailie's  servant,  and  she  read  so 
slowly,  putting  her  finger  beneath  each  word,  that 
she  had  not  yet  reached  the  middle.  Also,  she 
was  so  enamoured  of  the  work  that  she  would 
fight  anyone  who  tried  to  take  it  from  her. 

Tommy  refused  "  Ivanhoe,"  as  it  was  not  about 
Jacobites,  but  suggested  that  Gavinia  should  be 
offered  it  in  lieu  of  "  Waverley,"  and  told  that  it 
was  a  better  story. 

The  suggestion  came  too  late,  as  Gavinia  had 
already  had  a  loan  of"  Ivanhoe,"  and  read  it  with 

253 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

rapture,  inch  by  inch.  However,  if  Tommy  would 
wait  a  month,  or 

Tommy  was  so  eager  to  read  more  about  the 
Jacobites  that  he  found  it  trying  to  wait  five  min- 
utes. He  thought  Gavin's  duty  was  to  get  his 
father  to  compel  Gavinia  to  give  the  book  up. 

Was  Tommy  daft  ?  Mr.  Dishart  did  not  know 
that  his  son  possessed  these  books.  He  did  not 
approve  of  story  books,  and  when  Mrs.  Dishart 
gave  them  to  Gavin  on  his  birthday  she  —  she 
had  told  him  to  keep  them  out  of  his  father's 
sight.  (Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dishart  were  very  fond  of 
each  other,  but  there  were  certain  little  matters 
that  she  thought  it  unnecessary  to  trouble  him 
about.) 

So  if  Tommy  was  to  get  "  Waverley  "  at  once, 
he  must  discover  another  way.  He  reflected,  and 
then  set  off  to  Miss  Ailie's  (to  whom  he  still  read 
sober  works  of  an  evening,  but  novels  never),  look- 
ing as  if  he  had  found  a  way. 

For  some  time  Miss  Ailie  had  been  anxious 
about  her  red-armed  maid,  who  had  never  before 
given  pain  unless  by  excess  of  willingness,  as  when 
she  offered  her  garter  to  tie  Miss  Ailie's  parcels 
with.  Of  late,  however,  Gavinia  had  taken  to 
blurting  out  disquieting  questions,  to  the  signifi- 
cance of  which  she  withheld  the  key,  such  as  — • 

"  Is  there  ony  place  nowadays,  ma'am,  where 
there's  tourniements  ?  And  could  an  able-bodied 

254 


THE   SHADOW   OF   SIR   WALTER 


lassie  walk  to  them  ?  and  what  might  be  the  charge 
to  win  in  ?  " 

Or,  "  Would  you  no  like  to  be  so  michty  beau- 
tiful, ma'am,  that  as  soon  as  the  men  saw  your  bonny 
face  they  just  up  wi'  you  in  their  arms  and  ran  ?  " 

Or  again,  "  What's  the  heaviest  weight  o'  a  wo- 
man a  grand  lusty  man  could  carry  in  his  arms  as 
if  she  were  an  infant  ?  " 

This  method  of  conveyance  seemed  to  have  a 
peculiar  fascination  for  Gavinia,  and  she  got  her- 
self weighed  at  the  flesher's.  On  another  occasion 
she  broke  a  glass  candlestick,  and  all  she  said  to 
the  pieces  was,  "  Wha  carries  me,  wears  me." 

This  mystery  was  troubling  the  school-mistress 
sadly  when  Tommy  arrived  with  the  key  to  it. 
"  Pm  doubting  Gavinia's  reading  ill  books  on  the 
sly,"  he  said. 

"  Never ! "  exclaimed  Miss  Ailie,  "  she  reads  no- 
thing but  the  Mentor" 

Tommy  shook  his  head,  like  one  who  would 
fain  hope  so,  but  could  not  overlook  facts.  "  I've 
been  hearing,"  he  said,  "that  she  reads  books  as 
are  full  o'  Strokes  and  Words  We  have  no  Con- 
cern with." 

Miss  Ailie  could  not  believe  it,  but  she  was  ad- 
vised to  search  the  kitchen,  and  under  Gavinia's 
mattress  was  found  the  dreadful  work. 

"And you  are  only  fifteen!"  said  Miss  Ailie 
eyeing  her  little  maid  sorrowfully. 

*»  /-/- 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"  The  easier  to  carry,"  replied  Gavinta,  darkly. 

'*  And  you  named  after  a  minister ! "  Miss  Ailie 
continued,  for  her  maid  had  been  christened  Ga- 
vinia  because  she  was  the  first  child  baptized  in 
his  church  after  the  Rev.  Gavin  Dishart  came  to 
Thrums.  "  Gavinia,  I  must  tell  him  of  this.  I 
shall  take  this  book  to  Mr.  Dishart  this  very  day." 

"  The  right  man  to  take  it  to,"  replied  the  maid, 
sullenly,  "  for  it's  his  ain." 

"  Gavinia ! " 

"  Well,  it  was  Mrs.  Dishart  that  lended  it  to 


me." 


"I  —  I  never  saw  it  on  the  manse  shelves." 

"Pm  thinking,"  said  the  brazen  Gavinia,  "as 
there's  hoddy  corners  in  manses  as  well  as  in  — 
blue-and-white  rooms." 

This  dark  suggestion  was  as  great  a  shock  to 
the  gentle  school-mistress  as  if  out  of  a  clear  sky 
had  come  suddenly  the  word  — 

Stroke! 

She  tottered  with  the  book  that  had  so  demor- 
alized the  once  meek  Gavinia  into  the  blue-and- 
white  room,  where  Tommy  was  restlessly  awaiting 
her,  and  when  she  had  told  him  all,  he  said,  with 
downcast  eyes : 

"I  was  never  sure  o'  Mrs.  Dishart.  When  I 
hand  her  the  Mentor  she  looks  as  if  she  didna  care  a 
stroke  for  't " 

"  Tommy ! " 

256 


THE  SHADOW   OF  SIR  WALTER 

"  I'm  doubting,"  he  said  sadly,  that  she's  owe! 
fond  oj  Words  We  have  no  Concern  with." 

Miss  Ailie  would  not  listen  to  such  talk,  but 
she  approved  of  the  suggestion  that  "  Waverley  " 
should  be  returned  not  to  the  minister,  but  to  his 
wife,  and  she  accepted  gratefully  Tommy's  kindly 
offer  to  act  as  bearer.  Only  happening  to  open 
the  book  in  the  middle,  she 

"  I'm  waiting,"  said  Tommy,  after  ten  minutes 

She  did  not  hear  him. 

"  I'm  waiting,"  he  said  again,  but  she  was  now 
in  the  next  chapter. 

"  Maybe  you  would  like  to  read  it  yoursel' ! " 
he  cried,  and  then  she  came  to,  and  with  a  shud- 
der handed  him  the  book.  But  after  he  had  gone 
she  returned  to  the  kitchen  to  reprove  Gavinia  at 
greater  length,  and  in  the  midst  of  the  reproof  she 
said  faintly:  "You  did  not  happen  to  look  at  the 
end,  did  you  ?  " 

"  That  I  did,"  replied  Gavinia. 

"  And  did  she  —  did  he " 

"  No,"  said  Gavinia,  sorrowfully, 

Miss  Ailie  sighed.  "  That's  what  I  think  too," 
said  Gavinia. 

"  Why  didn't  they  ?  "  asked  the  school-mistress. 

"  Because  he  was  just  a  sumph,"  answered  Ga- 
vinia scornfully.  "If  he  had  been  like  Fergus, 
or  like  the  chield  in  4  Ivanhoe,'  he  wouldna  have 
ta'en  a  '  no/  He  would  just  have  whipped  her  up 

2C7 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

m  his  arms  and  away  wi'  her.    That's  the  kind  foi 
me,  ma'am." 

"  There  is  a  fascination  about  them,"  murmured 
Miss  Ailie. 

"A  what?" 

But  again  Miss  Ailie  came  to.  "For  shame, 
Gavinia,  for  shame ! "  she  said,  severely ;  "  these 
are  disgraceful  sentiments." 

In  the  meantime  Tommy  had  hurried  with  the 
book,  not  to  the  manse,  but  to  a  certain  garret,  and 
as  he  read,  his  imagination  went  on  fire.  Blinder's 
stories  had  made  him  half  a  Jacobite,  and  now 
44  Waverley "  revealed  to  him  that  he  was  born 
neither  for  the  ministry  nor  the  herding,  but  to 
restore  to  his  country  its  rightful  king.  The  first 
to  whom  he  confided  this  was  Corp,  who  imme- 
diately exclaimed :  "  Michty  me !  But  what  will 
the  police  say  ?  " 

"  I  ken  a  wy,"  answered  Tommy,  sternly. 


END    OF    PART    I 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 


PART   11 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

CHAPTER  XXI 

T7E  LAST  JACOBITE  RISING 

ON  the  evening  of  the  Queen's  birthday,  bridies 
were  eaten  to  her  honour  in  a  hundred  Thrums 
homes,  and  her  health  was  drunk  in  toddy,  Scotch 
toddy  and  Highland  toddy.  Patullo,  the  writer, 
gave  a  men's  party,  and  his  sole  instructions  to  his 
maid  were  "Keep  running  back  and  forrit  wi'  the 
hot  water."  At  the  bank  there  was  a  ladies'  party 
and  ginger  wine.  From  Cathro's  bedroom-window 
a  flag  was  displayed  with  Tivat  Regina  on  it,  the 
sentiment  composed  by  Cathro,  the  words  sewn  by 
die  girls  of  his  McCulloch  class.  The  eight-o'clock 
bell  rang  for  an  hour,  and  a  loyal  crowd  had  gath- 
ered in  the  square  to  shout.  To  a  superficial  ob- 
server, such  as  the  Baron  Bailie  or  Todd,  the  new 
policeman,  all  seemed  well  and  fair. 

But  a  very  different  scene  was  being  enacted  at 
261 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

the  same  time  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  Den,  where 
three  resolute  schemers  had  met  by  appointment 
Their  trysting-place  was  the  Cuttle  Well,  which 
is  most  easily  reached  by  the  pink  path  made  for 
that  purpose ;  but  the  better  to  further  their  dark 
and  sinister  design,  the  plotters  arrived  by  three 
circuitous  routes,  one  descending  the  Reekie  Broth 
Pot,  a  low  but  dangerous  waterfall,  the  second  dar- 
ing the  perils  of  the  crags,  and  the  third  walking 
stealthily  up  the  burn. 

"  Is  that  you,  Tommy  ?  " 

"  Whist !     Do  you  mind  the  password  ?  " 

"  Stroke ! " 

"Right.  Have  you  heard  Gav  Dishart  com- 
ing?" ^ 

"  I  hinna.  I  doubt  his  father  had  grippit  him 
as  he  was  slinking  out  o'  the  manse." 

"  I  fear  it,  Corp.  I'm  thinking  his  father  is  in 
the  Woman's  pay." 

"  What  woman  ?  " 

"  The  Woman  of  Hanover?  " 

"  That's  the  queen,  is  it  no  ?  " 

"  She'll  never  get  me  to  call  her  queen." 

"  Nor  yet  me.     I  think  I  hear  Gav  coming." 

Gav  Dishart  was  the  one  who  had  come  by  the 
burn,  and  his  boots  were  cheeping  like  a  field  of 
mice.  He  gave  the  word  "  Stroke,"  and  the  three 
then  looked  at  each  other  firmly.  The  lights  of 
the  town  were  not  visible  from  the  Cuttle  Well, 

262 


THE   LAST   JACOBITE   RISING 

owing  to  an  arm  of  cliff  that  is  outstretched  be- 
tween, but  the  bell  could  be  distinctly  heard,  and 
occasionally  a  shout  of  revelry. 

"  They  little  ken ! "  said  Tommy,  darkly. 

"  They  hinna  a  notion,"  said  Corp,  but  he  was 
looking  somewhat  perplexed  himself. 

"  It's  near  time  I  was  back  for  family  exercise," 
said  Gav,  uneasily,  "  so  we  had  better  do  it  quick, 
Tommy." 

"  Did  you  bring  the  wineglasses  *? "  Tommy 
asked  him. 

"  No,"  Gav  said,  "  the  press  was  lockit,  but  I've 
brought  egg-cups." 

"  Stand  round  then." 

The  three  boys  now  presented  a  picturesque  ap- 
pearance, but  there  was  none  save  the  man  in  the 
moon  to  see  them.  They  stood  round  the  Cuttle 
Well,  each  holding  an  egg-cup,  and  though  the 
daring  nature  of  their  undertaking  and  the  roman- 
tic surroundings  combined  to  excite  them,  it  was 
not  fear  but  soaring  purpose  that  paled  their  faces 
and  caused  their  hands  to  tremble,  when  Tommy 
said  solemnly,  "Afore  we  do  what  we've  come 
here  to  do,  let's  swear." 

"  Stroke  !  "  he  said. 

"  Stroke  !  "  said  Gav. 

"  Stroke  ! "  said  Corp. 

They  then  filled  their  cups  and  holding  them 
over  the  well,  so  that  they  clinked,  they  said : 

263 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"  To  the  king  ower  the  water  I " 

"  To  the  king  ower  the  water !  " 

"  To  the  king  ower  the  water ! " 

When  they  had  drunk  Tommy  broke  his  cup 
against  a  rock,  for  he  was  determined  that  it  should 
never  be  used  to  honour  a  meaner  toast,  and  the 
others  followed  his  example,  Corp  briskly,  though 
the  act  puzzled  him,  and  Gav  with  a  gloomy 
look  because  he  knew  that  the  cups  would  be 
missed  to-morrow. 

"  Is  that  a'  now  ?  "  whispered  Corp,  wiping  his 
forehead  with  his  sleeve. 

"  All ! "  cried  Tommy.  "  Man,  we've  just  be- 
good." 

As  secretly  as  they  had  entered  it,  they  left  the 
Den,  and  anon  three  figures  were  standing  in  a 
dark  trance,  cynically  watching  the  revellers  in  the 
square. 

"  If  they  just  kent ! "  muttered  the  smallest,  who 
was  wearing  his  jacket  outside  in  to  escape  obser- 
vation. 

"  But  they  little  ken ! "  said  Gav  Dishart. 

"  They  hinna  a  notion ! "  said  Corp,  contemp- 
tuously, but  still  he  was  a  little  puzzled,  and  pres- 
ently he  asked  softly:  "Lads,  what  just  is  it  that 
they  dinna  ken  ?  " 

Had  Gav  been  ready  with  an  answer  he  could 
not  have  uttered  it,  for  just  then  a  terrible  little 
man  in  black,  who  had  been  searching  for  him  in 

264 


THE   LAST  JACOBITE   RISING 


likely  places,  seized  him  by  the  cuff  of  the  neck, 
and,  turning  his  face  in  an  easterly  direction,  ran 
him  to  family  worship.  But  there  was  still  work 
to  do  for  the  other  two.  Walking  home  alone 
that  night  from  Mr.  Patullo's  party,  Mr.  Cathro 
had  an  uncomfortable  feeling  that  he  was  being 
dogged.  When  he  stopped  to  listen,  all  was  at 
once  still,  but  the  moment  he  moved  onward  he 
again  heard  stealthy  steps  behind.  He  retired  to 
rest  as  soon  as  he  reached  his  house,  to  be  wakened 
presently  by  a  slight  noise  at  the  window,  whence 
the  flag-post  protruded.  It  had  been  but  a  gust 
of  wind,  he  decided,  and  turned  round  to  go  to 
sleep  again,  when  crash!  the  post  was  plucked 
from  its  place  and  cast  to  the  ground.  The  dom- 
inie sprang  out  of  bed,  and  while  feeling  for  a  light, 
thought  he  heard  scurrying  feet,  but  when  he  looked 
out  at  the  window  no  one  was  to  be  seen;  Vivat 
Regina  lay  ignobly  in  the  gutters.  That  it  could 
have  been  the  object  of  an  intended  theft  was  not 
probable,  but  the  open  window  might  have  tempted 
thieves,  and  there  was  a  possible  though  risky  way 
up  by  the  spout.  The  affair  was  a  good  deal  talked 
about  at  the  time,  but  it  remained  shrouded  in  a 
mystery  which  even  we  have  been  unable  to  pene- 
trate. 

On  the  heels  of  the  Queen's  birthday  came  the 
Muckley,  the  one  that  was  to  be  known  to  fame, 
if  fame  was  willing  to  listen  to  Corp,  as  Tommy's 

265 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

Muckley.  Unless  he  had  some  grand  aim  in  view 
never  was  a  boy  who  yielded  to  temptations  more 
blithely  than  Tommy,  but  when  he  had  such  aim 
never  was  a  boy  so  firm  in  withstanding  them* 
At  this  Muckley  he  had  a  mighty  reason  for  not 
spending  money,  and  with  ninepence  in  his  pocket 
clamouring  to  be  out  he  spent  not  one  halfpenny. 
There  was  something  uncanny  in  the  sight  of  him 
stalking  unscathed  between  rows  of  stands  and 
shows,  everyone  of  them  aiming  at  his  pockets. 
Corp  and  Gav,  of  course,  were  in  the  secret  and 
did  their  humble  best  to  act  in  the  same  unnatural 
manner,  but  now  and  again  a  show  made  a  suc- 
cessful snap  at  Gav,  and  Corp  had  gloomy  fears 
that  he  would  lose  his  head  in  presence  of  the 
Teuch  and  Tasty,  from  which  humiliation  indeed 
he  was  only  saved  by  the  happy  idea  of  requesting 
Tommy  to  shout  "  Deuteronomy ! "  in  a  warning 
voice,  every  time  they  drew  nigh  Californy's  se- 
ductive stand. 

Was  there  nothing  for  sale,  then,  that  the  three 
thirsted  to  buy  *?  There  were  many  things,  among 
them  weapons  of  war,  a  pack  of  cards,  more  prop- 
erly called  Devil's  books,  blue  bonnets  suitable 
for  Highland  gentlemen,  feathers  for  the  bonnets, 
a  tin  lantern,  yards  of  tartan  cloth,  which  the  deft 
fingers  of  Grizel  would  convert  into  warriors'  sashes. 
Corp  knew  that  these  purchases  were  in  Tommy's 
far-seeing  eye,  but  he  thought  the  only  way  to  get 

266 


. 


THE   LAST  JACOBITE   RISING 


em  was  to  ask  the  price  and  then  offer  half. 
Gav,  the  scholar,  who  had  already  reached  day- 
light through  the  first  three  books  of  Euclid,  and 
took  a  walk  every  Saturday  morning  with  his 
father  and  Herodotus,  even  Gav,  the  scholar,  was 
as  thick-witted  as  Corp. 

"Well  let  other  laddies  buy  them,"  Tommy 
explained  in  his  superior  way,  "  and  then  after  the 
Muckley  is  past,  we'll  buy  them  frae  them." 

The  others  understood  now.  After  a  Muckley 
there  was  always  a  great  dearth  of  pence,  and  a 
moneyed  man  could  become  owner  of  Muckley 
purchases  at  a  sixth  part  of  the  Muckley  price. 

"  You  crittur ! "  exclaimed  Corp,  in  abject  admi- 
ration. 

But  Gav  saw  an  objection.  "  The  feck  of  them," 
he  pointed  out,  "will  waur  their  siller  on  shows 
and  things  to  eat,  instead  of  on  what  we  want 
them  to  buy." 

"  So  they  will,  the  nasty  sackets ! "  cried  Corp. 

"  You  couldna  blame  a  laddie  for  buying  Teuch 
and  Tasty,"  continued  Gav  with  triumph,  for  he 
was  a  little  jealous  of  Tommy. 

"You  couldna,"  agreed  Corp,  "no,  I'll  be  da- 
gont,  if  you  could,"  and  his  hand  pressed  his  money 
feverishly. 

"  Deuteronomy ! "  roared  Tommy,  and  Corp's 
hand  jumped  as  if  it  had  been  caught  in  some 
other  person's  pocket. 

267 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"  But  how  are  we  to  do  ?  "  he  asked.  "  If  you 
like,  Pll  take  Birkie  and  the  Haggerty-Taggertys 
round  the  Muckley  and  fight  ilka  ane  that  doesna 
buy " 

"  Corp,"  said  Tommy,  calmly,  "  I  wonder  at  you. 
Do  you  no  ken  yet  that  the  best  plan  is  to  leave  a' 
thing  to  me  ?  " 

"  Blethering  gowks  that  we  are,  of  course  it  is ! " 
cried  Corp,  and  he  turned  almost  fiercely  upon  Gav. 
"  Lippen  all  to  him,"  he  said  with  grand  confidence, 
•'  he'll  find  a  wy." 

And  Tommy  found  a  way.  Birkie  was  the  boy 
who  bought  the  pack  of  cards.  He  saw  Tommy 
looking  so  woe-begone  that  it  was  necessary  to 
ask  the  reason. 

"Oh,  Birkie,  lend  me  threepence,"  sobbed 
Tommy,  "  and  I'll  give  you  sixpence  the  morn." 

"  You're  daft,"  said  Birkie,  "  there's  no  a  laddie 
in  Thrums  that  will  have  one  single  lonely  bawbee 
the  morn." 

"Him  that  buys  the  cards,"  moaned  Tommy, 
"will  never  be  without  siller,  for  you  tell  auld 
folks  fortunes  on  them  at  a  penny  every  throw. 
Lend  me  threepence,  Birkie.  They  cost  a  sic,  and 
I  have  just " 

"  Na,  na,"  said  greedy  Birkie,  "  I'm  no  to  be 
caf.ched  wi'  chaff.  If  it's  true,  what  you  say,  I'll 
buy  the  cards  myselV 

Having  thus  got  hold  of  him,  Tommy  led 

268 


THE  LAST  JACOBITE  RISING 

Birkie  to  a  stand  where  the  King  of  Egypt  was 
telling  fortunes  with  cards,  and  doing  a  roaring 
trade  among  the  Jocks  and  Jennys.  He  also  sold 
packs  at  sixpence  each,  and  the  elated  Birkie  was 
an  immediate  purchaser. 

"You're  no  so  clever  as  you  think  yoursel'I" 
he  said  triumphantly  to  Tommy,  who  replied 
with  his  inscrutable  smile.  But  to  his  satellites  he 
said,  "  Not  a  soul  will  buy  a  fortune  frae  Birkie. 
I'll  get  thae  cards  for  a  penny  afore  next  week's 
out." 

Francie  Crabb  found  Tommy  sniggering  to  him- 
self in  the  back  wynd.  "  What  are  you  goucking 
at  *? "  asked  Francie  in  surprise,  for,  as  a  rule, 
Tommy  only  laughed  behind  his  face. 

"  I  winna  tell  you,"  chuckled  Tommy,  "  but 
what  a  bar,  oh,  what  a  divert ! " 

"  Come  on,  tell  me." 

"  Well,  it's  at  the  man  as  is  swallowing  swords 
ahint  the  menagerie." 

"  I  see  nothing  to  laugh  at  in  that." 

"  I'm  no  laughing  at  that.  I'm  laughing  at  him 
for  selling  the  swords  for  ninepence  the  piece. 
Oh,  what  ignorant  he  is,  oh,  what  a  bar ! " 

"  Ninepence  is  a  mislaird  price  for  a  soord,"  said 
Francie.  "  I  never  gave  ninepence." 

Tommy  looked  at  him  in  the  way  that  always 
made  boys  fidget  with  their  fists. 

"You're  near  as  big  a  bar  as  him,"  he  said 
269 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

scornfully.  "Did  you  ever  see  the  sword  that's 
hanging  on  the  wall  in  the  backroom  at  the  post- 
office  <?  " 

"  No,  but  my  father  has  telled  me  about  it.  It 
has  a  grand  name." 

"  It's  an  Andrea  Ferrara,  that's  what  it  is." 

"  Ay,  I  mind  the  name  now;  there  has  been  folk 
killed  wi'  that  soord." 

This  was  true,  for  the  post-office  Andrea  Ferrara 
has  a  stirring  history,  but  for  the  present  its  price 
was  the  important  thing.  "  Dr.  McQueen  offered 
a  pound  note  for  it,"  said  Tommy. 

"  I  ken  that,  but  what  has  that  to  do  wi'  the 
soord-swallower  ?  " 

"  Just  this ;  that  the  swords  he  is  selling  for  nine- 
pence  are  Andrea  Ferraras,  the  same  as  the  post- 
office  one,  and  he  could  get  a  pound  a  piece  for 
them  if  he  kent  their  worth.  Oh,  what  a  bar,  oh, 
what  - 

Francie's  eyes  lit  up  greedily,  and  he  looked  at 
his  two  silver  shillings,  and  took  two  steps  in  the 
direction  of  the  sword-swallower's,  and  faltered  and 
could  not  make  up  his  agitated  mind.  Tommy 
set  off  toward  the  square  at  a  brisk  walk. 

"  Whaur  are  you  off  to  ?"  asked  Francie,  follow- 
ing him. 

"  To  tell  the  man  what  his  swords  is  worth.  It 
would  be  ill  done  no  to  tell  him."  To  clinch  the 
matter,  off  went  Tommy  at  a  run,  and  off  went 

270 


THE   LAST   JACOBITE   RISING 

Francie  after  him.  As  a  rule  Tommy  was  the 
swifter,  but  on  this  occasion  he  lagged  of  fell  pur- 
pose, and  reached  the  sword-swallower's  tent  just 
in  time  to  see  Francie  emerge  elated  therefrom, 
carrying  two  Andrea  Ferraras.  Francie  grinned 
when  they  met. 

"  What  a  bar !  "  he  crowed. 

"  What  a  bar !  "  agreed  Tommy,  and  sufficient 
has  now  been  told  to  show  that  he  had  found  a 
way.  Even  Gav  acknowledged  a  master,  and, 
when  the  accoutrements  of  war  were  bought  at 
second  hand  as  cheaply  as  Tommy  had  predicted, 
applauded  him  with  eyes  and  mouth  for  a  full 
week,  after  which  he  saw  things  in  a  new  light. 
Gav  of  course  was  to  enter  the  bursary  lists  anon, 
and  he  had  supposed  that  Cathro  would  have  the 
last  year's  schooling  of  him ;  but  no,  his  father  de- 
cided to  send  him  for  the  grand  final  grind  to  Mr. 
Ogilvy  of  Glen  Quharity,  a  famous  dominie  be- 
tween whom  and  Mr.  Dishart  existed  a  friendship 
that  none  had  ever  got  at  the  root  of.  Mr.  Cathro 
was  more  annoyed  than  he  cared  to  show,  Gav 
being  of  all  the  boys  of  that  time  the  one  likeliest 
to  do  his  teacher  honour  at  the  university  competi- 
tions, but  Tommy,  though  the  decision  cost  him 
an  adherent,  was  not  ill-pleased,  for  he  had  dis- 
covered that  Gav  was  one  of  those  irritating  boys 
who  like  to  be  leader.  Gav,  as  has  been  said,  sud- 
denly saw  Tommy's  victory  over  Messrs.  Birkie, 

271 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Francie,  etc.,  in  a  new  light;  this  was  because  when 
he  wanted  back  the  shilling  which  he  had  con- 
tributed to  the  funds  for  buying  their  purchases, 
Tommy  replied  firmly: 

"  I  canna  give  you  the  shilling,  but  I'll  give  you 
the  lantern  and  the  tartan  cloth  we  bought  wi'  it." 

"  What  use  could  they  be  to  me  at  Glen- 
quharity  ?  "  Gav  protested. 

"  Oh,  if  they  are  no  use  to  you,"  Tommy  said 
sweetly,  "me  and  Corp  is  willing  to  buy  them  off 
you  for  threepence." 

Then  Gav  became  a  scorner  of  duplicity,  but  he 
had  to  consent  to  the  bargain,  and  again  Corp 
said  to  Tommy,  "  Oh,  you  crittur ! "  But  he  was 
sorry  to  lose  a  fellow-conspirator.  "  There's  just 
the  twa  oj  us  now,"  he  sighed. 

"  Just  twa ! "  cried  Tommy.  "  What  are  you 
havering  about,  man?  There's  as  many  as  I  like 
to  whistle  for." 

"  You  mean  Grizel  and  Elspeth,  I  ken,  but " 

"  I  wasna  thinking  of  the  women-folk,"  Tommy 
told  him,  with  a  contemptuous  wave  of  the  hand. 
He  went  closer  to  Corp,  and  said,  in  a  low  voice, 
"  The  McKenzies  are  waiting ! " 

"  Are  they,  though  ?  "  said  Corp,  perplexed,  as 
he  had  no  notion  who  the  McKenzies  might  be. 

"  And  Lochiel  has  twa  hunder  spearsmen." 

"  Do  you  say  so  ?  " 

"  Young  Kinnordy's  ettling  to  come  out,  and  I 
272 


THE   LAST   JACOBITE   RISING 

meet  Lord  Airlie,  when  the  moon  rises,  at  the 
Loups  o'  Kenny,  and  auld  Bradwardine's  as  spunky 
as  ever,  and  there's  fifty  wild  Highlandmen  lying 
ready  in  the  muckle  cave  of  Clova." 

He  spoke  so  earnestly  that  Corp  could  only 
ejaculate,  "  Michty  me  ! " 

"But  of  course  they  winna  rise,"  continued 
Tommy,  darkly,  "  till  he  lands." 

"  Of  course  no,"  said  Corp,  "  but  —  wha  is  he  *? " 

"  Himsel',"  whispered  Tommy,  "the  Chevalier! " 

Corp  hesitated.  "  But,  I  thought,"  he  said  dif- 
fidently, "  I  thought  you " 

"  So  I  am,"  said  Tommy. 

"But  you  said  he  hadna  landed  yet?" 

"Neither  he  has." 

"But  you " 

"Well?" 

"  You're  here,  are  you  no  ?  w 

Tommy  stamped  his  foot  in  irritation.  "  You're 
slow  in  the  uptak,"  he  said.  "  I'm  no  here.  How 
can  I  be  here  when  I'm  at  St.  Germains  ?  " 

"  Dinna  be  angry  wi'  me,"  Corp  begged.  "  1 
ken  you're  ower  the  water,  but  when  I  see  you,  I 
kind  of  forget;  and  just  for  the  minute  I  think 
you're  here." 

"  Well,  think  afore  you  speak." 

"  I'll  try,  but  that's  teuch  work.  When  do  you 
come  to  Scotland  ?  " 

"  I'm  no  sure ;  but  as  soon  as  I'm  ripe." 

273 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

At  nights  Tommy  now  sometimes  lay  among 
the  cabbages  of  the  school-house  watching  the 
shadow  of  Black  Cathro  on  his  sitting-room  blind. 
Cathro  never  knew  he  was  there.  The  reason 
Tommy  lay  among  the  cabbages  was  that  there 
was  a  price  upon  his  head. 

"  But  if  Black  Cathro  wanted  to  get  the  blood- 
money,"  Corp  said  apologetically,  "  he  could  nab 
you  any  day.  He  kens  you  fine." 

Tommy  smiled  meaningly.  "  Not  him,"  he  an- 
swered, "  I've  cheated  him  bonny,  he  hasna  a  no- 
tion wha  I  am.  Corp,  would  you  like  a  good 
laugh  ?  " 

"  That  I  would." 

"  Weel,  then,  I'll  tell  you  wha  he  thinks  I  am. 
Do  you  ken  a  little  house  yont  the  road  a  bitty 
frae  Monypenny  ?  " 

"  I  ken  no  sic  house,"  said  Corp,  "  except 
Aaron's." 

"  Aaron's  the  man  as  bides  in  it,"  Tommy  con- 
tinued hastily,  "  at  least  I  think  that's  the  name. 
Well,  as  you  ken  the  house,  you've  maybe  noticed 
a  laddie  that  bides  there  too6?  " 

"  There's  no  laddie,"  began  Corp,  "  except  - 

"  Let  me  see,"  interrupted  Tommy,  "  what  was 
his  name  *?  Was  it  Peter  <?  No.  Was  it  Willie  ? 
Stop,  I  mind,  it  was  Tommy." 

He  glared  so  that  Corp  dared  not  utter  a  word, 
"  Have  you  notitched  him  ^  " 

274 


THE   LAST   JACOBITE   RISING 

"I've  —  I've  seen  him,"  Corp  gasped. 

"Well,  this  is  the  joke,"  said  Tommy,  trying 
vainly  to  restrain  his  mirth,  "  Cathro  thinks  I'm 
that  laddie!  Ho!  ho!  ho!" 

Corp  scratched  his  head,  then  he  bit  his  warts, 
then  he  spat  upon  his  hands,  then  he  said  "  Damn." 

The  crisis  came  when  Cathro,  still  ignorant  that 
the  heather  was  on  fire,  dropped  some  disparaging 
remarks  about  the  Stuarts  to  his  history  class. 
Tommy  said  nothing,  but — but  one  of  the  school- 
windows  was  without  a  snib,  and  next  morning 
when  the  dominie  reached  his  desk  he  was  sur- 
prised to  find  on  it  a  little  cotton  glove.  He  raised 
it  on  high,  greatly  puzzled,  and  then,  as  ever  when 
he  suspected  knavery,  his  eyes  sought  Tommy, 
who  was  sitting  on  a  form,  his  arms  proudly  folded. 
That  the  whelp  had  put  the  glove  there,  Cathro 
no  longer  doubted,  and  he  would  have  liked  to 
know  why,  but  was  reluctant  to  give  him  the  sat- 
isfaction of  asking.  So  the  gauntlet — for  gauntlet 
it  was — was  laid  aside,  the  while  Tommy,  his  head 
bumming  like  a  beeskep,  muttered  triumphantly 
through  his  teeth,  "But  he  lifted  it,  he  lifted  it!" 
and  at  closing  time  it  was  flung  in  his  face  with 
this  fair  tribute: 

"  I'm  no  a  rich  man,  laddie,  but  I  would  give  a 
pound  note  to  know  what  you'll  be  at  ten  years 
from  now." 

There  could  be  no  mistaking  the  dire  meaning 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

of  these  words,  and  Tommy  hurried,  pale  but  de> 
termined,  to  the  quarry,  where  Corp,  with  a  barrow 
in  his  hands,  was  learning  strange  phrases  by  heart, 
and  finding  it  a  help  to  call  his  warts  after  the  new 
swears. 

"  Corp,"  cried  Tommy,  "  I've  set  sail ! " 
On  the  following  Saturday  evening  Charles  Ed- 
ward landed  in  the  Den.  In  his  bonnet  was  the 
white  cockade,  and  round  his  waist  a  tartan  sash ; 
though  he  had  long  passed  man's  allotted  span  his 
face  was  still  full  of  fire,  his  figure  lithe  and  even 
boyish.  For  state  reasons  he  had  assumed  the  name 
of  Captain  Stroke.  As  he  leapt  ashore  from  the 
bark,  the  Dancing  Shovel,  he  was  received  right 
loyally  by  Corp  and  other  faithful  adherents,  of 
whom  only  two,  and  these  of  a  sex  to  which  his 
House  was  ever  partial,  were  visible,  owing  to  the 
gathering  gloom.  Corp  of  that  Ilk  sank  on  his 
knees  at  the  water's  edge,  and  kissing  his  royal 
master's  hand  said,  fervently,  "Welcome,  my 
prince,  once  more  to  bonny  Scotland ! "  Then  he 
rose  and  whispered,  but  with  scarcely  less  emotion, 
"  There's  an  egg  to  your  tea." 


276 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  SIEGE  OF  THRUMS 

THE  man  in  the  moon  is  a  native  of  Thrums,  who 
was  put  up  there  for  hacking  sticks  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  as  he  sails  over  the  Den  his  interest  in  the  bit 
placey  is  still  sufficient  to  make  him  bend  forward 
and  cry  "  Boo ! "  at  the  lovers.  When  they  jump 
apart  you  can  see  the  aged  reprobate  grinning. 
Once  out  of  sight  of  the  Den,  he  cares  not  a  boddle 
how  the  moon  travels,  but  the  masterful  crittur  en- 
rages him  if  she  is  in  a  hurry  here,  just  as  he  is  clev- 
erly making  out  whose  children's  children  are  court- 
ing now.  "  Slow,  there ! "  he  cries  to  the  moon,  but 
she  answers  placidly  that  they  have  the  rest  of  tne 
world  to  view  to-night.  "  The  rest  of  the  world 
be  danged ! "  roars  the  man,  and  he  cranes  his  neck 
for  a  last  glimpse  of  the  Cuttle  Well,  until  he  nearly 
falls  out  of  the  moon. 

Never  had  the  man  such  a  trying  time  as  during 
the  year  now  before  him.  It  was  the  year  when  so 
many  scientific  magnates  sat  up  half  the  night  in 
their  shirts,  spying  at  him  through  telescopes.  But 
every  effort  to  discover  why  he  was  in  such  a  fidget 

277 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

failed,  because  the  spy-glasses  were  never  levelled 
at  the  Thrums  Den.  Through  the  whole  of  the 
incidents  now  to  tell,  you  may  conceive  the  man 
(on  whom  sympathy  would  be  wasted)  dagoning 
horribly,  because  he  was  always  carried  past  the 
den  before  he  could  make  head  or  tail  of  the 
change  that  had  come  over  it. 

The  spot  chosen  by  the  ill-fated  Stuart  and  his 
gallant  remnant  for  their  last  desperate  enterprise 
was  eminently  fitted  for  their  purpose.  Being 
round  the  corner  from  Thrums,  it  was  commanded 
by  no  fortified  place  save  the  farm  of  Nether 
Drumgley,  and  on  a  recent  goustie  night  nearly  all 
the  trees  had  been  blown  down,  making  a  hundred 
hiding-places  for  bold  climbers,  and  transforming 
the  Den  into  a  scene  of  wild  and  mournful  gran- 
deur. In  no  bay  more  suitable  than  the  flooded 
field  called  the  Silent  Pool  could  the  hunted  prince 
have  cast  anchor,  for  the  Pool  is  not  only  sheltered 
from  observation,  but  so  little  troubled  by  gales 
that  it  had  only  one  drawback :  at  some  seasons 
of  the  year  it  was  not  there.  This,  however,  did 
not  vex  Stroke,  as  it  is  cannier  to  call  him,  for  he 
burned  his  boats  on  the  night  he  landed  (and  a 
dagont,  tedious  job  it  was  too),  and  pointed  out  to 
his  followers  that  the  drouth  which  kept  him  in 
must  also  keep  the  enemy  out.  Part  of  the  way 
to  the  lair  they  usually  traversed  in  the  burn,  be- 
cause water  leaves  no  trace,  and  though  they  car- 

278 


THE   SIEGE   OF   THRUMS 

ried  turnip  lanterns  and  were  armed  to  the  teeth, 
this  was  often  a  perilous  journey  owing  to  the 
lovers  close  at  hand  on  the  pink  path,  from  which 
the  trees  had  been  cleared,  for  lads  and  lasses 
must  walk  whate'er  betide.  Ronny-On's  Jean 
and  Peter  Scrymgeour,  little  Lisbeth  Doak  and 
long  Sam'l  from  Pyotdykes  were  pairing  that 
year,  and  never  knew  how  near  they  were  to  being 
dirked  by  Corp  of  Corp,  who,  lurking  in  the  bum 
till  there  were  no  tibbits  in  his  toes,  muttered 
fiercely,  "  Cheep  one  single  cheep,  and  it  will  be 
thy  hinmost,  methinks !  "  under  the  impression  that 
Methinks  was  a  Jacobite  oath. 

For  this  voluntary  service,  Stroke  clapped  Corp 
of  Corp  on  the  shoulder  with  a  naked  sword,  and 
said,  "  Rise,  Sir  Joseph ! "  which  made  Corp  more 
confused  than  ever,  for  he  was  already  Corp  of 
Corp,  Him  of  Muckle  Kenny,  Red  McNeil,  An- 
drew Ferrara,  and  the  Master  of  Inverquharity 
(Stroke's  names),  as  well  as  Stab-in-the-Dark, 
Grind-them-to-Mullins,  and  Warty  Joe  (his  own), 
and  which  he  was  at  any  particular  moment  he 
never  knew,  till  Stroke  told  him,  and  even  then  he 
forgot  and  had  to  be  put  in  irons. 

The  other  frequenters  of  the  lair  on  Saturday 
nights  (when  alone  the  rebellion  was  active)  were 
the  proud  Lady  Grizel  and  Widow  Elspeth.  It 
had  been  thought  best  to  make  Elspeth  a  widow, 
because  she  was  so  religious. 

279 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

The  lair  was  on  the  right  bank  of  the  bum, 
near  the  waterfall,  and  you  climbed  to  it  by  ropes, 
unless  you  preferred  an  easier  way.  It  is  now 
a  dripping  hollow,  down  which  water  dribbles 
from  beneath  a  sluice,  but  at  that  time  it  was  hid- 
den on  all  sides  by  trees  and  the  huge  clods  of 
sward  they  had  torn  from  the  earth  as  they  fell. 
Two  of  these  clods  were  the  only  walls  of  the  lair, 
which  had  it  times  a  ceiling  not  unlike  Aaron 
Latta's  bed  coverlets,  and  the  chief  furniture  was 
two  barrels,  marked  "  Usquebach  "  and  "  Powder." 
When  the  darkness  of  Stroke's  fortunes  sat  like 
a  pall  upon  his  brow,  as  happened  sometimes,  he 
sought  to  drive  it  away  by  playing  cards  on  one 
of  the?^  barrels  with  Sir  Joseph,  but  the  approach 
of  the  Widow  made  him  pocket  them  quickly 
with  a  warning  sign  to  his  trusty  knight,  who  did 
not  understand,  and  asked  what  had  become  of 
them,  whereupon  Elspeth  cried,  in  horror : 

"  Cards !     Oh,  Tommy,  you  promised " 

But  Stroke  rode  her  down  with,  "Cards!  Wha 
has  been  playing  cards?  You,  Muckle  Kenny, 
and  you,  Sir  Joseph,  after  I  forbade  it!  Hie, 
there,  Inverquharity,  all  of  you,  seize  those  men." 

Then  Corp  blinked,  came  to  his  senses  and 
marched  himself  off  to  the  prison  on  the  lonely 
promontory  called  the  Queen's  Bower,  saying 
ferociously,  "  Jouk,  Sir  Joseph,  and  I'll  blaw  you 
into  posterity." 

280 


THE   SIEGE   OF   THRUMS 

It  is  sable  night  when  Stroke  and  Sir  Joseph 
reach  a  point  in  the  Den  whence  the  glimmering 
lights  of  the  town  are  distinctly  visible.  Neither 
speaks.  Presently  the  distant  eight-o'clock  bell 
rings,  and  then  Sir  Joseph  looks  anxiously  at  his 
warts,  for  this  is  the  signal  to  begin,  and  as  usual 
he  has  forgotten  the  words. 

"  Go  on,"  says  someone  in  a  whisper.  It  cannot 
be  Stroke,  for  his  head  is  brooding  on  his  breast. 
This  mysterious  voice  haunted  all  the  doings  in 
the  Den,  and  had  better  be  confined  in  brackets. 

("Go  on.") 

"Methinks,"  says  Sir  Joseph,  "  methinks  the 
borers " 

("  Burghers.") 

"  Methinks  the  burghers  now  cease  from  their 
labours." 

"  Ay,"  replied  Stroke,  "  'tis  so,  would  that  they 
ceased  from  them  forever ! " 

"  Methinks  the  time  is  at  hand." 

"  Ha!"  exclaims  Stroke^  looking  at  his  lieutenant 
curiously,  "  what  makest  thou  say  so  ?  For  three 
weeks  these  fortifications  have  defied  my  cannon, 
there  is  scarce  a  breach  yet  in  the  walls  of  yonder 
town." 

"  Methinks  thou  wilt  find  a  way." 

44  It  may  be  so,  my  good  Sir  Joseph,  it  may  be 
so,  and  yet,  even  when  I  am  most  hopeful  of  success, 
my  schemes  go  a  gley." 

281 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 


"  Methinks  thy  dark 


("  Dinna  say  Methinks  so  often.") 

("  Tommy,  I  maun.  If  I  dinna  get  that  to  start 
me  off,  I  go  through  other.") 

("Go  on.") 

"  Methinks  thy  dark  spirit  lies  on  thee  to-night." 

"  Ay,  'tis  too  true.  But  cans't  thou  blame  me 
if  I  grow  sad  ?  The  town  still  in  the  enemy's  hands, 
and  so  much  brave  blood  already  spilt  in  vain. 
Knowest  thou  that  the  brave  Kinnordy  fell  last 
night  ?  My  noble  Kinnordy ! " 

Here  Stroke  covers  his  face  with  his  hands,  weep- 
ing silently,  and  —  and  there  is  an  awkward  pause. 

("  Go  on  —  *  Still  have  me.'  ") 

("  So  it  is.")    "  Weep  not,  my  royal  scone  - 

("  Scion.") 

"Weep  not,  my  royal  scion,  havest  thou  not 
still  me?" 

"  Well  said,  Sir  Joseph,*'  cries  Stroke,  dashing 
the  sign  of  weakness  from  his  face.  "  I  still  have 
many  brave  fellows,  and  with  their  help  I  shall  be 
master  of  this  proud  town." 

"  And  then  ghost  we  to  fair  Edinburgh  ?  " 

"Ay,  'tis  so,  but,  Sir  Joseph,  thinkest  thou  these 
burghers  love  the  Stuart  not  ?  " 

"  Nay,  methinks  they  are  true  to  thee,  but  their 
starch  commander  —  (give  me  my  time,  this  is  a 
langane,)  but  their  arch  commander  is  thy  bitterest 

282 


THE  SIEGE   OF   THRUMS 

foe.  Vile  spoon  that  he  is !  (It's  no  spoon,  it's 
spawn.)" 

"  Thou  meanest  the  craven  Cathro  ?  " 

"  Methinks  ay.     (I  like  thae  short  anes.)" 

"  'Tis  well ! "  says  Stroke,  sternly.  "  That  man 
hath  ever  slipped  between  me  and  my  right.  His 
time  will  come." 

"He  floppeth  thee  —  he  flouteth  thee  from  the 
battlements." 

"Ha, 'tis  well!" 

("  You've  said  that  already.") 

("  I  say  it  twice.") 

("  That's  what  aye  puts  me  wrang.)  Ghost  thou 
to  meet  the  proud  Lady  Grizel  to-night  ?  " 

"  Ay." 

"  Ghost  thou  alone  ?  " 

"  Ay." 

("  What  easy  anes  you  have !)  I  fear  it  is  not 
chancey  for  thee  to  go." 

"  I  must  dree  my  dreed." 

"  These  women  is  kittle  cattle." 

"  The  Stuart  hath  ever  a  soft  side  for  them. 
Ah,  my  trusty  foster-brother,  knowest  thou  not 
what  it  is  to  love  ?  " 

"  Alas,  I  too  have  had  my  fling.  (Does  Grizel 
kiss  your  hand  yet  *?)  " 

"  (No,  she  winna,  the  limmer.)  Sir  Joseph,  I 
go  to  her." 

283 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"  Methinks  she  is  a  haughty  onion.  I  prithee 
go  not  to-night." 

"  I  have  given  my  word." 

"  Thy  word  is  a  band." 

"  Adieu,  my  friend." 

"  Methinks  thou  ghost  to  thy  damn.  (Did  we 
no  promise  Elspeth  there  should  be  no  swearing?)  " 

The  raft  Vick  Ian  Vohr  is  dragged  to  the  shore, 
and  Stroke  steps  on  board,  a  proud  solitary  figure. 
"  Farewell ! "  he  cries  hoarsely,  as  he  seizes  the  oar. 

"  Farewell,  my  leech,"  answers  Corp,  and  then 
helps  him  to  disembark.  Their  hands  chance  to 
meet,  and  Stroke's  is  so  hot  that  Corp  quails. 

"  Tommy,"  he  says,  with  a  shudder,  "  do  you  — 
you  dinna  think  it's  a'  true,  do  you  ?  "  But  the 
ill-fated  prince  only  gives  him  a  warning  look  and 
plunges  into  the  mazes  of  the  forest.  For  a  long 
time  silence  reigns  over  the  Den.  Lights  glint  fit- 
fully, a  human  voice  imitates  the  plaintive  cry  of  the 
peewit,  cautious  whistling  follows,  comes  next  the 
clash  of  arms,  and  the  scream  of  one  in  the  death- 
throes,  and  again  silence  falls.  Stroke  emerges 
near  the  Reekie  Broth  Pot,  wiping  his  sword  and 
muttering,  "  Faugh  !  it  drippeth ! "  At  the  same 
moment  the  air  is  filled  with  music  of  more  than 
mortal , —  well,  the  air  is  filled  with  music.  It 
seems  to  come  from  but  a  few  yards  away,  and 
pressing  his  hand  to  his  throbbing  brow  the  Cheva- 
lier presses  forward  till,  pushing  aside  the  branches 

284 


THE   SIEGE   OF   THRUMS 

of  a  fallen  fir,  he  comes  suddenly  upon  a  scene  of 
such  romantic  beauty  that  he  stands  rooted  to  the 
ground.  Before  him,  softly  lit  by  a  half-moon 
(the  man  in  it  perspiring  with  curiosity),  is  a  mini- 
ature dell,  behind  which  rise  threatening  rocks, 
overgrown  here  and  there  by  grass,  heath,  and 
bracken,  while  in  the  centre  of  the  dell  is  a  bubbling 
spring  called  the  Cuttle  Well,  whose  water,  as  it 
overflows  a  natural  basin,  soaks  into  the  surround- 
ing ground  and  so  finds  a  way  into  the  picturesque 
stream  below.  But  it  is  not  the  loveliness  of  the 
spot  which  fascinates  the  prince ;  rather  is  it  the 
exquisite  creature  who  sits  by  the  bubbling  spring, 
a  reed  from  a  hand-loom  in  her  hands,  from  which 
she  strikes  mournful  sounds,  the  while  she  raises 
her  voice  in  song.  A  pink  scarf  and  a  blue  ribbon 
are  crossed  upon  her  breast,  her  dark  tresses  kiss 
her  lovely  neck,  and  as  she  sits  on  the  only  dry 
stone,  her  face  raised  as  if  in  rapt  communion  with 
the  heavens,  and  her  feet  tucked  beneath  her  to 
avoid  the  mud,  she  seems  not  a  human  being,  but 
the  very  spirit  of  the  place  and  hour.  The  royal 
wanderer  remains  spellbound,  while  she  strikes  her 
lyre  and  sings  (with  but  one  trivial  alteration)  the 
song  of  MacMurrough :  — 

Awake  on  your  hills,  on  your  islands  awake, 
Brave  sons  of  the  mountains,  the  frith  and  the  lake! 
'Tis  the  bugle  —  but  not  for  the  chase  is  the  call ; 
*Tis  the  pibroch's  shrill  summons  —  but  not  to  the  hall 

285 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

'Tis  the  summons  of  heroes  for  conquest  or  death, 
When  the  banners  are  blazing  on  mountain  and  heath ; 
They  call  to  the  dirk,  the  claymore  and  the  targe, 
To  the  march  and  the  muster,  the  line  and  the  charge. 

Be  the  brand  of  each  Chieftain  like  Stroke's  in  his  ire ! 
May  the  blood  through  his  veins  flow  like  currents  of^     * 
Burst  the  base  foreign  yoke  as  your  sires  did  of  yore,   i 
Or  die  like  your  sires,  and  endure  it  no  more. 

As  the  fair  singer  concluded,  Stroke,  who  had 
been  deeply  moved,  heaved  a  great  sigh,  and  im- 
mediately, as  if  in  echo  of  it,  came  a  sigh  from  the 
opposite  side  of  the  dell.  In  a  second  of  time  three 
people  had  learned  that  a  certain  lady  had  two 
lovers.  She  starts  to  her  feet,  still  carefully  avoid- 
ing the  puddles,  but  it  is  not  she  who  speaks. 

("  Did  you  hear  me  ?  ") 

("Ay.") 

("You're  ready?") 

("  CaJ  awa'.") 

Stroke  dashes  to  the  girl's  side,  just  in  time  to 
pluck  her  from  the  arms  of  a  masked  man.  The 
villain  raises  his  mask  and  reveals  the  face  of — it 
looks  like  Corp,  but  the  disguise  is  thrown  away 
on  Stroke. 

"  Ha,  Cathro,"  he  exclaims  joyfully,  "  so  at  last 
we  meet  on  equal  terms ! " 

"  Back,  Stroke,  and  let  me  pass." 

"  Nay,  we  fight  for  the  wench." 
286 


THE   SIEGE   OF   THRUMS 

*'  So  be  it.  The  prideful  onion  is  his  who  wins 
her." 

"Have  at  thee,  caitiff!" 

A  terrible  conflict  ensues.  Cathro  draws  first 
blood.  'Tis  but  a  scratch.  Ha !  well  thrust,  Stroke. 
T  .  ain  Cathro  girns  his  teeth.  Inch  by  inch  he 
is  driven  back,  he  slips,  he  recovers,  he  pants,  he  is 
apparently  about  to  fling  himself  down  the  steep 
bank  and  so  find  safety  in  flight,  but  he  comes  on 
again. 

("  What  are  you  doing  ?     You  run  now.") 

("  I  ken,  but  I'm  sweer ! ") 

("Off you  go.") 

Even  as  Stroke  is  about  to  press  home,  the  cow- 
ardly foe  flings  himself  down  the  steep  bank  and 
rolls  out  of  sight.  He  will  give  no  more  trouble 
to-night ;  and  the  victor  turns  to  the  Lady  Grizel, 
who  had  been  repinning  the  silk  scarf  across  her 
breast,  while  the  issue  of  the  combat  was  still  in 
doubt. 

("  Now,  then,  Grizel,  you  kiss  my  hand.") 

("  I  tell  you  I  won't.") 

("  Well,  then,  go  on  your  knees  to  me.") 

("  You  needn't  think  it.") 

("  Dagon  you !     Then  caj  awa'  standing.") 

"  My  liege,  thou  hast  saved  me  from  the  wretch 
Cathro." 

"  May  I  always  be  near  to  defend  thee  in  time 
of  danger,  my  pretty  chick," 

287 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

("  Tommy,  you  promised  not  to  call  me  by  those 
silly  names.") 

("  They  slip  out,  I  tell  you.  That  was  aye  the 
way  wi'  the  Stuarts.") 

("  Well,  you  must  say  *  Lady  Grizel.')  Good* 
my  prince,  how  can  I  thank  thee  *?  " 

"  By  being  my  wife.  (Not  a  word  of  this  to 
Elspeth.)" 

"  Nay,  I  summoned  thee  here  to  tell  thee  that 
can  never  be.  The  Grizels  of  Grizel  are  of  ancient 
lineage,  but  they  mate  not  with  monarchs.  My 
sire,  the  nunnery  gates  will  soon  close  on  me  for- 
ever." 

"  Then  at  least  say  thou  lovest  me." 

"  Alas,  I  love  thee  not." 

("  What  haver  is  this  ?  I  telled  you  to  say 
*  Charles,  would  that  I  loved  thee  less.' ") 

("  And  I  told  you  I  would  not.") 

("  Well,  then,  where  are  we  now  *?  ") 

("  We  miss  out  all  that  about  my  wearing  your 
portrait  next  my  heart,  and  put  in  the  rich  ap- 
parel bit,  the  same  as  last  week.") 

("  Oh  !  Then  I  go  on  ?)  Bethink  thee,  fair 
jade  —  " 

("  Lady.") 

"  Bethink  thee,  fair  lady,  Stuart  is  not  so  poor 
but  that,  if  thou  come  with  him  to  his  lowly  lair, 
he  can  deck  thee  with  rich  apparel  and  ribbons 


288 


THE  SIEGE  OF   THRUMS 

"  I  spurn  thy  gifts,  unhappy  man,  but  if  there 
are  holes  in " 

("  Miss  that  common  bit  out.    I  canna  thole  it.") 

("  I  like  it.)  If  there  are  holes  in  the  garments 
of  thy  loyal  followers,  I  will  come  and  mend  them, 
and  I  have  a  needle  and  thread  in  my  pocket. 
(Tommy,  there  is  another  button  off  your  shirt! 
Have  you  got  the  button  *?  ") 

"  (It's  down  my  breeks.)     So  be  it,  proud  girl, 


come ! " 


It  was  Grizel  who  made  masks  out  of  tin  rags, 
picked  up  where  tinkers  had  passed  the  night,  and 
musical  instruments  out  of  broken  reeds  that 
smelled  of  caddis,  and  Jacobite  head-gear  out  of 
weavers'  night-caps ;  and  she  kept  the  lair  so 
clean  and  tidy  as  to  raise  a  fear  that  intruders 
might  mistake  its  character.  Elspeth  had  to  mind 
the  pot,  which  Aaron  Latta  never  missed,  and  Corp 
was  supposed  to  light  the  fire  by  striking  sparks  from 
his  knife,  a  trick  which  Tommy  considered  so  easy 
that  he  refused  to  show  how  it  was  done.  Many 
strange  sauces  were  boiled  in  that  pot,  a  sort  of 
potato-turnip  pudding  often  coming  out  even  when 
not  expected,  but  there  was  an  occasional  rabbit 
that  had  been  bowled  over  by  Corp's  unerring 
hand,  and  once  Tommy  shot  a  —  a  haunch  of 
venison,  having  first,  with  Corp's  help,  howked  it 
out  of  Runny-On's  swine,  then  suspended  head 
downward,  and  open  like  a  book  at  the  page  of 

289 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

contents,  steaming,  dripping,  a  tub  beneath,  boys 
with  bladders  in  the  distance.  When  they  had 
supped  they  gathered  round  the  fire,  Grizel  knit- 
ting a  shawl  for  they  knew  whom,  but  the  name 
was  never  mentioned,  and  Tommy  told  the  story 
of  his  life  at  the  French  court,  and  how  he  fought 
in  the  '45  and  afterwards  hid  in  caves,  and  so  did 
he  shudder,  as  he  described  the  cold  of  his  bracken 
beds,  and  so  glowed  his  face,  for  it  was  all  real  to 
him,  that  Grizel  let  the  wool  drop  on  her  knee,  and 
Corp  whispered  to  Elspeth,  "  Dinna  be  fleid  for 
him;  I'se  uphaud  he  found  a  wy."  Those  quiet 
evenings  were  not  the  least  pleasant  spent  in  the 
Den. 

But  sometimes  they  were  interrupted  by  a  fierce 
endeavour  to  carry  the  lair,  when  boys  from  Cathro's 
climbed  to  it  up  each  other's  backs,  the  rope,  of 
course,  having  been  pulled  into  safety  at  the  first 
sound,  and  then  that  end  of  the  Den  rang  with 
shouts,  and  deeds  of  valour  on  both  sides  were  as 
common  as  pine  needles,  and  once  Tommy  and 
Corp  were  only  saved  from  captors  who  had  them 
down,  by  Grizel  rushing  into  the  midst  of  things 
with  two  flaring  torches,  and  another  time  bold 
Birkie,  most  daring  of  the  storming  party,  was 
seized  with  two  others  and  made  to  walk  the 
plank.  The  plank  had  been  part  of  a  gate,  and 
was  suspended  over  the  bank  of  the  Silent  Pool, 

290 


THE  SIEGE  OF  THRUMS 

so  that,  as  you  approached  the  farther  end,  down 
you  went.  It  was  not  a  Jacobite  method,  but 
Tommy  feared  that  rows  of  bodies,  hanging  from 
the  trees  still  standing  in  the  Den,  might  attract 
attention. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

GRIZEL   PAYS  THREE  VISITS 

LESS  alarming  but  more  irritating  was  the  attempt 
of  the  youth  of  Monypenny  and  the  West  town 
end,  to  establish  a  rival  firm  of  Jacobites  (without 
even  being  sure  of  the  name).  They  started  busi- 
ness (Francie  Crabb  leader,  because  he  had  a  kilt) 
on  a  flagon  of  porter  and  an  ounce  of  twist,  which 
they  carried  on  a  stick  through  the  Den,  saying 
"  Bowf ! "  like  dogs,  when  they  met  anyone,  and 
then  laughing  doubtfully.  The  twist  and  porter 
were  seized  by  Tommy  and  his  followers,  and 
Haggerty-Taggerty,  Major,  arrived  home  with  his 
head  so  firmly  secured  in  the  flagon  that  the  solder 
had  to  be  melted  before  he  saw  the  world  again. 
Francie  was  in  still  worse  plight,  for  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  evening  he  had  to  hide  in  shame 
among  the  brackens,  and  Tommy  wore  a  kilt. 

One  cruel  revenge  the  beaten  rivals  had.  They 
waylaid  Grizel,  when  she  was  alone,  and  thus  as- 
sailed her,  she  answering  not  a  word. 

"What's  a  father4?" 

"She'll  soon  no  have  a  mither  either!" 

202 


GRIZEL   PAYS   THREE   VISITS 

"  The  Painted  Lady  needs  to  paint  her  cheeks 
no  longer ! " 

"  Na,  the  red  spots  comes  t/iemsels  now." 

"  Have  you  heard  her  hoasting  ?  " 

"  Ay,  it's  the  hoast  o'  a  dying  woman." 

"  The  joiner  heard  it,  and  gave  her  a  look,  mea- 
suring her  wi'  his  eye  for  the  coffin.  *  Five  and  a 
half  by  one  and  a  half  would  hold  her  snod,'  he 
says  to  himsel'." 

"  Ronny-On's  auld  wife  heard  it,  and  says  she, 
'Dinna  think,  my  leddy,  as  you'll  be  buried  in 
consecrated  ground/  " 

"Na,  a'body  kens  she'll  just  be  hauled  at  the 
end  o'  a  rope  to  the  hole  where  the  witches  was 
shooled  in." 

"  Wi'  a  paling  spar  through  her,  to  keep  her 
down  on  the  day  o'  judgment." 

Well,  well,  these  children  became  men  and  wo- 
men in  time,  one  of  them  even  a  bit  of  a  hero, 
though  he  never  knew  it. 

Are  you  angry  with  them  ?  If  so,  put  the  cheap 
thing  aside,  or  think  only  of  Grizel,  and  perhaps 
God  will  turn  your  anger  into  love  for  her. 

Great-hearted,  solitary  child !  She  walked  away 
from  them  without  flinching,  but  on  reaching  the 
Den,  where  no  one  could  see  her  —  she  lay  down 
on  the  ground,  and  her  cheeks  were  dry,  but  little 
wells  of  water  stood  in  her  eyes. 

She  would  not  be  the  Lady  Grizel  that  night 

293 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

She  went  home  instead,  but  there  was  something 
she  wanted  to  ask  Tommy  now,  and  the  next  time 
she  saw  him  she  began  at  once.  Grizel  always 
began  at  once,  often  in  the  middle,  she  saw  what 
she  was  making  for  so  clearly. 

"  Do  you  know  what  it  means  when  there  are 
led  spots  in  your  cheeks,  that  used  not  to  be  there  ?  " 

Tommy  knew  at  once  to  whom  she  was  referring, 
for  he  had  heard  the  gossip  of  the  youth  of  Mony- 
penny,  and  he  hesitated  to  answer. 

"  And  if,  when  you  cough,  you  bring  up  a  tiny 
speck  of  blood?" 

"  I  would  get  a  bottle  frae  the  doctor,"  said 
Tommy,  evasively. 

"  She  won't  have  the  doctor,"  answered  Grizel, 
unguardedly,  and  then  with  a  look  dared  Tommy 
to  say  that  she  spoke  of  her  mother. 

"  Does  it  mean  you  are  dying  ?  " 

"I  —  I  —  oh,  no,  they  soon  get  better." 
£-  He  said  this  because  he  was  so  sorry  for  Grizel 
There  never  was  a  more  sympathetic  nature  than 
Tommy's.  At  every  time  of  his  life  his  pity  was 
easily  roused  for  persons  in  distress,  and  he  sought 
to  comfort  them  by  shutting  their  eyes  to  the  truth 
as  long  as  possible.  This  sometimes  brought  relief 
to  them,  but  it  was  useless  to  Grizel,  who  must 
face  her  troubles. 

"  Why  don't  you  answer  truthfully  *? "  she  cried, 
with  vehemence.  "  It  is  so  easy  to  be  truthful !  * 

294 


GRIZEL   PAYS   THREE   VISITS 

"  Well,  then,"  said  Tommy,  reluctantly,  "  I 
think  they  generally  die." 

Elspeth  often  carried  in  her  pocket  a  little  Tes- 
tament, presented  to  her  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dishart 
for  learning  by  heart  one  of  the  noblest  of  books, 
the  Shorter  Catechism,  as  Scottish  children  do  or 
did,  not  understanding  it  at  the  time,  but  its  mean- 
ing comes  long  afterwards  and  suddenly,  when  you 
have  most  need  of  it.  Sometimes  Elspeth  read 
aloud  from  her  Testament  to  Grizel,  who  made 
no  comment,  but  this  same  evening,  when  the 
two  were  alone,  she  said  abruptly: 

"  Have  you  your  Testament  *?  " 

"  Yes,"  Elspeth  said,  producing  it. 

"Which  is  the  page  about  saving  sinners?" 

"  It's  all  about  that." 

"  But  the  page  when  you  are  in  a  hurry  ?  " 

Elspeth  read  aloud  the  story  of  the  Crucifixion, 
and  Grizel  listened  sharply  until  she  heard  what 
Jesus  said  to  the  malefactor :  "  To-day  shalt  thou 
be  with  me  in  Paradise." 

"  And  was  he  <?  " 

"Of  course." 

"  But  he  had  been  wicked  all  his  life,  and  I  be- 
lieve he  was  only  good,  just  that  minute,  because 
they  were  crucifying  him.  If  they  had  let  him 
come  down " 

"  No,  he  repented,  you  know.  That  means  he 
had  faith,  and  if  you  have  faith  you  are  saved.  It 

2QC 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

doesna  matter  how  bad  you  have  been.  You  have 
just  to  say  '  I  believe '  before  you  die,  and  God  lets 
you  in.  It's  so  easy,  Grizel,"  cried  Elspeth,  with 
shining  eyes. 

Grizel  pondered.  "  I  don't  believe  it  is  so  easy 
as  that,"  she  said,  decisively. 

Nevertheless  she  asked  presently  what  the  Tes- 
tament cost,  and  when  Elspeth  answered  "Four- 
pence,"  offered  her  the  money. 

"  I  don't  want  to  sell  it,"  Elspeth  remonstrated. 

"  If  you  don't  give  it  to  me,  I  shall  take  it  from 
you,"  said  Grizel,  determinedly. 

"  You  can  buy  one." 

"  No,  the  shop  people  would  guess." 

"Guess  what?" 

"  I  won't  tell  you." 

"  I'll  lend  it  to  you." 

"  I  won't  take  it  that  way."  So  Elspeth  had  to 
part  with  her  Testament,  saying  wonderingly, 
"Can  you  read?" 

"  Yes,  and  write  too.     Mamma  taught  me." 

"  But  I  thought  she  was  daft,"  Elspeth  blurted 
out. 

"  She  is  only  daft  now  and  then,"  Grizel  replied, 
without  her  usual  spirit.  "  Generally  she  is  not 
daft  at  all,  but  only  timid." 

Next  morning  the  Painted  Lady's  child  paid 
"hree  calls,  one  in  town,  two  in  the  country.  The 
adorable  thing  is  that,  once  having  made  up  her 

2q6 


GRIZEL   PAYS   THREE   VISITS 

mind,  she  never  flinched,  not  even  when  her  hand 
was  on  the  knocker. 

The  first  gentleman  received  her  in  his  lobby. 
For  a  moment  he  did  not  remember  her;  then  sud- 
denly the  colour  deepened  on  his  face,  and  he  went 
back  and  shut  the  parlour-door. 

"  Did  anybody  see  you  coming  here  ?  "  he  asked, 
quickly. 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  What  does  she  want  ?  " 

"  She  did  not  send  me,  I  came  myself" 

"Well?" 

"  When  you  come  to  our  house " 

"I  never  come  to  your  house." 

"  That  is  a  lie." 

"  Speak  lower !  " 

"When  you  come  to  our  house  you  tell  me 
to  go  out  and  play.  But  I  don't.  I  go  and 
cry." 

No  doubt  he  was  listening,  but  his  eyes  were  on 
the  parlour-door. 

"  I  don't  know  why  I  cry,  but  you  know,  you 
wicked  man  !  Why  is  it  *? 

"  Why  is  it  ?  "  she  demanded  again,  like  a  queen- 
child,  but  he  could  only  fidget  with  his  gold  chain 
and  shuffle  uneasily  in  his  parnella  shoes. 

"  You  are  not  coming  to  see  my  mamma  again." 

The  gentleman  gave  her  an  ugly  look. 

"  If  you  do,"  she  said  at  once,  "  I  shall  come 
2Q7 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

straight  here  and  open  that  door  you  are  looking 
at,  and  tell  your  wife." 

He  dared  not  swear.     His  hand 

"  If  you  offer  me  money,"  said  Grizel,  "  I  shall 
tell  her  now." 

He  muttered  something  to  himself. 

"  Is  it  true  *? "  she  asked,  "  that  mamma  is 
dying?" 

This  was  a  genuine  shock  to  him,  for  he  had 
not  been  at  Double  Dykes  since  winter,  and  then 
the  Painted  Lady  was  quite  well. 

"  Nonsense !  "  he  said,  and  his  obvious  disbelief 
brought  some  comfort  to  the  girl.  But  she  asked, 
"  Why  are  there  red  spots  on  her  cheeks,  then  *?  " 

"  Paint,"  he  answered. 

"  No,"  cried  Grizel,  rocking  her  arms,  "  it  is  not 
paint  now.  I  thought  it  might  be  and  I  tried  to 
rub  it  off  while  she  was  sleeping,  but  it  will  not 
come  off.  And  when  she  coughs  there  is  blood 
on  her  handkerchief." 

He  looked  alarmed  now,  and  Grizel's  fears 
came  back.  "  If  mamma  dies,"  she  said  deter- 
minedly, "  she  must  be  buried  in  the  cemetery." 

"  She  is  not  dying,  I  tell  you." 

"And  you  must  come  to  the  funeral." 

"  Are  you  gyte  *?  " 

"  With  crape  on  your  hat." 

His  mouth  formed  an  emphatic  "No." 

"  You  must,"  said  Grizel,  firmly,  "  you  shall ! 
298 


GRIZEL   PAYS   THREE   VISITS 

If  you  don't "  She  pointed  to  the  parlour- 
door. 

Her  remaining  two  visits  were  to  a  similar  ef- 
fect, and  one  of  the  gentlemen  came  out  of  the 
ordeal  somewhat  less  shamefully  than  the  first,  the 
other  worse,  for  he  blubbered  and  wanted  to  kiss 
her.  It  is  questionable  whether  many  young 
ladies  have  made  such  a  profound  impression  in  a 
series  of  morning  calls. 

The  names  of  these  gentlemen  are  not  known, 
but  you  shall  be  told  presently  where  they  may  be 
found.  Every  person  in  Thrums  used  to  know 
the  place,  and  many  itched  to  get  at  the  names, 
but  as  yet  no  one  has  had  the  nerve  to  look  for 
them. 

Not  at  this  time  did  Grizel  say  a  word  of  these 
interviews  to  her  friends,  though  Tommy  had  to 
be  told  of  them  later,  and  she  never  again  referred 
to  her  mother  at  the  Saturday  evenings  in  the  Den. 
But  the  others  began  to  know  a  queer  thing,  no- 
thing less  than  this,  that  in  their  absence  the  lair  was 
sometimes  visited  by  a  person  or  persons  unknown, 
who  made  use  of  their  stock  of  firewood.  It  was 
a  startling  discovery,  but  when  they  discussed  it 
in  council,  Grizel  never  contributed  a  word.  The 
affair  remained  a  mystery  until  one  Saturday  even- 
ing, when  Tommy  and  Elspeth,  reaching  the  lair 
first,  found  in  it  a  delicate  white  shawl.  They 
both  recognized  in  it  the  pretty  thing  the  Painted 

299 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Lady  had  pinned  across  her  shoulders  on  the  night 
they  saw  her  steal  out  of  Double  Dykes  to  meet 
the  man  of  long  ago. 

Even  while  their  eyes  were  saying  this,  Grizel 
climbed  in  without  giving  the  password,  and  they 
knew  from  her  quick  glance  around  that  she  had 
come  for  the  shawl.  She  snatched  it  out  of 
Tommy's  hand  with  a  look  that  prohibited  ques- 
tions. 

"  It's  the  pair  o'  them,"  Tommy  said  to  Elspeth 
at  the  first  opportunity,  "that  sometimes  comes 
here  at  nights  and  kindles  the  fire  and  warms 
themsels  at  the  gloze.  And  the  last  time  they 
came  they  forgot  the  shawl." 

"  I  dinna  like  to  think  the  Painted  Lady  has 
been  up  here,  Tommy." 

"  But  she  has.  You  ken  how,  when  she  has  a 
daft  fit,  she  wanders  the  Den  trysting  the  man  that 
never  comes.  Has  she  no  been  seen  at  all  hours 
o'  the  night,  Grizel  following  a  wee  bit  ahint,  like 
as  if  to  take  tent  o'  her  *? " 

"  They  say  that,  and  that  Grizel  canna  get  her 
to  go  home  till  the  daft  fit  has  passed." 

"  Well,  she  has  that  kechering  hoast  and  spit 
now,  and  so  Grizel  brings  her  up  here  out  o'  the 
blasts." 

"  But  how  could  she  be  got  to  come  here,  if  she 
winna  go  home  *?  " 

"  Because  frae  here  she  can  -vatch  for  the  man." 
300 


GRIZEL  PAYS   THREE   VISITS 

Elspeth  shuddered.  "  Do  you  think  she's  here 
often,  Tommy  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Just  when  she  has  a  daft  fit  on,  and  they  say 
she's  wise  sax  days  in  seven." 

This  made  the  Jacobite  meetings  eerie  events 
for  Elspeth,  but  Tommy  liked  them  the  better; 
and  what  were  they  not  to  Grizel,  who  ran  to  them 
with  passionate  fondness  every  Saturday  night? 
Sometimes  she  even  outdistanced  her  haunting 
dreads,  for  she  knew  that  her  mother  did  not  think 
herself  seriously  ill ;  and  had  not  the  three  gentle- 
men made  light  of  that  curious  cough  ?  So  there 
were  nights  when  the  lair  saw  Grizel  go  riotous 
with  glee,  laughing,  dancing,  and  shouting  over- 
much, like  one  trying  to  make  up  for  a  lost  child- 
hood. But  it  was  also  noticed  that  when  the  time 
came  to  leave  the  Den  she  was  very  loath,  and 
kissed  her  hands  to  the  places  where  she  had  been 
happiest,  saying,  wistfully,  and  with  pretty  gestures 
that  were  foreign  to  Thrums,  "  Good-night,  dear 
Cuttle  Well!"  "Good-by,  sweet,  sweet  Lair! "as 
if  she  knew  it  could  not  last.  These  weekly  ris- 
ings in  the  Den  were  most  real  to  Tommy,  but  it 
was  Grizel  who  loved  them  best 


301 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

A  ROMANCE  OF  TWO   OLD   MAIDS  AND  A  STOUT 
BACHELOR 

CAME  Gavinia,  a  burgess  of  the  besieged  city,  along 
the  south  shore  of  the  Silent  Pool.  She  was  but  a 
maid  seeking  to  know  what  love  might  be,  and  as 
she  wandered  on,  she  nibbled  dreamily  at  a  hot 
sweet-smelling  bridie,  whose  gravy  oozed  deli- 
ciously  through  a  bursting  paper-bag. 

It  was  a  fit  night  for  dark  deeds. 

"  Methinks  she  cometh  to  her  doom ! n 

The  speaker  was  a  masked  man  who  had  fol- 
lowed her  —  he  was  sniffing  ecstatically  —  since 
she  left  the  city  walls. 

She  seemed  to  possess  a  charmed  life.  He  would 
have  had  her  in  Shovel  Gorge,  but  just  then 
Ronny-On's  Jean  and  Peter  Scrymgeour  turned 
the  corner. 

Suddenly  Gavinia  felt  an  exquisite  thrill ;  a  man 
was  pursuing  her.  She  slipped  the  paper-bag  out 
of  sight,  holding  it  dexterously  against  her  side 
with  her  arm,  so  that  the  gravy  should  not  spurt 
out,  and  ran.  Lights  flashed,  a  kingly  voice  cried 
"Now!"  and  immediately  a  petticoat  was  flung 

302 


TWO   OLD  MAIDS   AND  A  BACHELOR 

over  her  head.     (The  Lady  Griselda  looked  thin 
that  evening.) 

Gavinia  was  dragged  to  the  Lair,  and  though 
many  a  time  they  bumped  her,  she  tenderly  nursed 
the  paper-bag  with  her  arm,  or  fondly  thought  she 
did  so,  for  when  unmuffled  she  discovered  that  it 
had  been  removed,  as  if  by  painless  surgery.  And 
her  captors'  tongues  were  sweeping  their  chins  for 
stray  crumbs. 

The  wench  was  offered  her  choice  of  Stroke's 
gallant  fellows,  but  "  Wha  carries  me  wears  me," 
said  she,  promptly,  and  not  only  had  he  to  carry 
her  from  one  end  of  the  Den  to  the  other,  but  he 
must  do  it  whistling,  as  if  barely  conscious  that 
she  was  there.  So  after  many  attempts  (for  she 
was  always  willing  to  let  them  have  their  try) 
Corp  of  Corp,  speaking  for  Sir  Joseph  and  the 
others,  announced  a  general  retreat. 

Instead  of  taking  this  prisoner's  life,  Stroke 
made  her  his  tool,  releasing  her  on  condition  that 
every  seventh  day  she  appeared  at  the  Lair  with  in- 
formation concerning  the  doings  in  the  town.  Also, 
her  name  was  Agnes  of  Kingoldrum,  and,  if  she 
said  it  was  not,  the  plank.  Bought  thus,  Agnes 
proved  of  service,  bringing  such  bags  of  news  that 
Stroke  was  often  occupied  now  in  drawing  diagrams 
of  Thrums  and  its  strongholds,  including  the  resi- 
dence of  Cathro,  with  dotted  lines  to  show  the  di- 
rection of  proposed  underground  passages. 

303 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

And  presently  came  by  this  messenger  disquiet- 
ing rumours  indeed.  Another  letter,  being  the  third 
in  six  months,  had  reached  the  Dovecot,  addressed, 
not  to  Miss  Ailie,  but  to  Miss  Kitty.  Miss  Kitty 
had  been  dead  fully  six  years,  and  Archie  Piatt,  the 
post,  swore  that  this  was  the  eighteenth,  if  not  the 
nineteenth,  letter  he  had  delivered  to  her  name 
since  that  time.  They  were  all  in  the  same  hand, 
a  man's,  and  there  had  been  similar  letters  while 
she  was  alive,  but  of  these  he  kept  no  record. 
Miss  Ailie  always  took  these  letters  with  a  trem- 
bling hand,  and  then  locked  herself  in  her  bedroom, 
leaving  the  key  in  such  a  position  in  its  hole  that 
you  might  just  as  well  go  straight  back  to  the  kit- 
chen. Within  a  few  hours  of  the  arrival  of  these 
ghostly  letters,  tongues  were  wagging  about  them, 
but  to  the  two  or  three  persons  who  (after  passing 
a  sleepless  night)  bluntly  asked  Miss  Ailie  from 
whom  they  came,  she  only  replied  by  pursing  her 
lips.  Nothing  could  be  learned  at  the  post-office 
save  that  Miss  Ailie  never  posted  any  letter  there, 
except  to  two  Misses  and  a  Mrs.,  all  resident  in 
Redlintie.  The  mysterious  letters  came  from  Aus- 
traly  or  Manchester,  or  some  such  part. 

What  could  Stroke  make  of  this?  He  expressed 
no  opinion,  but  oh,  his  face  was  grim.  Orders 
were  immediately  given  to  double  the  sentinels. 
A  barrel  was  placed  in  the  Queen's  Bower.  Saw- 
dust was  introduced  at  immense  risk  into  the  Lair. 


TWO   OLD  MAIDS  AND  A  BACHELOR 

A  paper  containing  this  writing,  "  248x110317  Oxh- 
4591 AWS314  I4<id5,"  was  passed  round  and  then 
solemnly  burned.  Nothing  was  left  to  chance. 

Agnes  of  Kingoldrum  (Stroke  told  her)  did  not 
know  Miss  Ailie,  but  she  was  commanded  to  pay 
special  attention  to  the  gossip  of  the  town  regard- 
ing this  new  move  of  the  enemy.  By  next  Satur- 
day the  plot  had  thickened.  Previous  letters  might 
have  reddened  Miss  Ailie's  eyes  for  an  hour  or  two, 
but  they  gladdened  her  as  a  whole.  Now  she  sat 
crying  all  evening  with  this  one  on  her  lap;  she 
gave  up  her  daily  walk  to  the  Berlin  wool  shop, 
with  all  its  romantic  possibilities ;  at  the  clatter  of 
the  tea-things  she  would  start  apprehensively;  she 
had  let  a  red  shawl  lie  for  two  days  in  the  blue-and- 
white  room. 

Stroke  never  blanched.  He  called  his  faithful 
remnant  around  him,  and  told  them  the  story  of 
Bell  the  Cat,  with  its  application  in  the  records  of 
his  race.  Did  they  take  his  meaning?  This  Miss 
Ailie  must  be  watched  closely.  In  short,  once 
more,  in  Scottish  history,  someone  must  bell  the 
cat.  Who  would  volunteer? 

Corp  of  Corp  and  Sir  Joseph  stepped  forward 
as  one  man. 

"  Thou  couldst  not  look  like  Gavinia,"  the  prince 
said,  shaking  his  head. 

"  Wha  wants  him  to  look  like  Gavinia  ?  "  cried 
an  indignant  voice. 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

"  Peace,  Agnes ! "  said  Stroke. 

"Agnes,  why  bletherest  thou  ?  "  said  Sir  Joseph. 

"  If  onybody's  to  watch  Miss  Ailie,"  insisted 
the  obstinate  woman,  "  surely  it  should  be  me !  " 

"Ha!"  Stroke  sprang  to  his  feet,  for  some- 
thing in  her  voice,  or  the  outline  of  her  figure, 
or  perhaps  it  was  her  profile,  had  given  him  an 
idea.  "  A  torch  ! "  he  cried  eagerly,  and  with  its 
aid  he  scanned  her  face  until  his  own  shone  tri- 
umphant. 

"  He  kens  a  wy,  methinks !  "  exclaimed  one  of 
his  men. 

Sir  Joseph  was  right.  It  had  been  among  the 
prince's  exploits  to  make  his  way  into  Thrums  in 
disguise,  and  mix  with  the  people  as  one  of  them- 
selves, and  on  several  of  these  occasions  he  had 
seen  Miss  Ajlie's  attendant.  Agnes's  resemblance 
to  her  now  struck  him  for  the  first  time.  It  should 
be  Agnes  of  Kingoldrum's  honourable  though  dan- 
gerous part  to  take  this  Gavinia's  place. 

But  how  to  obtain  possession  of  Gavinia's  per- 
son? Agnes  made  several  suggestions,  but  was 
told  to  hold  her  prating  peace.  It  could  only  be 
done  in  one  way.  They  must  kidnap  her.  Sir 
Joseph  was  ordered  to  be  ready  to  accompany  his 
liege  on  this  perilous  enterprise  in  ten  minutes. 
"  And  mind,"  said  Stroke,  gravely,  "  we  carry  our 
lives  in  our  hands." 

"  In  our  hands ! "  gasped  Sir  Joseph,  greatly 
306 


TWO   OLD  MAIDS  AND  A  BACHELOR 

puzzled,  but  he  dared  ask  no  more,  and  when  the 
two  set  forth  (leaving  Agnes  of  Kingoldrum  look- 
ing very  uncomfortable),  he  was  surprised  to  see 
that  Stroke  was  carrying  nothing.  Sir  Joseph 
carried  in  his  hand  his  red  hanky,  mysteriously 
knotted. 

"  Where  is  yours  ?  "  he  whispered. 

"  What  meanest  thou  ?  " 

Sir  Joseph  replied,  "  Oh,  nothing,"  and  thought  it 
best  to  slip  his  handkerchief  into  his  trouser-pocket, 
but  the  affair  bothered  him  for  long  afterwards. 

When  they  returned  through  the  Den,  there  still 
seemed  (to  the  unpiercing  eye)  to  be  but  two  of 
them ;  nevertheless,  Stroke  reentered  the  Lair  to 
announce  to  Agnes  and  the  others  that  he  had  left 
Gavinia  below  in  charge  of  Sir  Joseph.  She  was  to 
walk  the  plank  anon,  but  first  she  must  be  stripped 
that  Agnes  might  don  her  garments.  Stroke  was 
every  inch  a  prince,  so  he  kept  Agnes  by  his  side, 
and  sent  down  the  Lady  Griselda  and  Widow 
Elspeth  to  strip  the  prisoner,  Sir  Joseph  having 
orders  to  stand  back  fifty  paces.  (It  is  a  pleasure 
to  have  to  record  this.) 

The  signal  having  been  given  that  this  delicate 
task  was  accomplished,  Stroke  whistled  shrilly, 
and  next  moment  was  heard  from  far  below  a 
thud,  as  of  a  body  falling  in  water,  then  an  agon- 
izing shriek,  and  then  again  all  was  still,  save  for 
the  heavy  breathing  of  Agnes  of  Kingoldrum. 

307 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

Sir  Joseph  (very  wet)  returned  to  the  Lair,  and 
Agnes  was  commanded  to  take  off  her  clothes  in  a 
retired  spot  and  put  on  those  of  the  deceased  which 
she  should  find  behind  a  fallen  tree. 

"  I  winna  be  called  the  deceased,"  cried  Agnes 
hotly,  but  she  had  to  do  as  she  was  bid,  and  when 
she  emerged  from  behind  the  tree  she  was  the  very 
image  of  the  ill-fated  Gavinia.  Stroke  showed 
her  a  plan  of  Miss  Ailie's  backdoor,  and  also  gave 
her  a  kitchen  key  (when  he  produced  this,  she  felt 
in  her  pockets  and  then  snatched  it  from  him), 
after  which  she  set  out  for  the  Dovecot  in  a  scare 
about  her  own  identity. 

"  And  now,  what  doest  thou  think  about  it  a'  ?  " 
inquired  Sir  Joseph  eagerly,  to  which  Stroke  made 
answer,  looking  at  him  fixedly : 

"  The  wind  is  in  the  west ! " 

Sir  Joseph  should  have  kept  this  a  secret,  but 
soon  Stroke  heard  Inverquharity  prating  of  it,  and 
he  called  his  lieutenant  before  him.  Sir  Joseph 
acknowledged  humbly  that  he  had  been  unable  to 
hide  it  from  Inverquharity,  but  he  promised  not 
to  tell  Muckle  Kenny,  of  whose  loyalty  there  were 
doubts.  Henceforth,  when  the  faithful  fellow  was 
Muckle  Kenny,  he  would  say  doggedly  to  himself, 
"  Dinna  question  me,  Kenny.  I  ken  nocht  about 
it." 

Dark  indeed  were  now  the  fortunes  of  the  Pre- 
tender, but  they  had  one  bright  spot.  Miss  Ailie 

308 


TWO   OLD  MAIDS  AND  A  BACHELOR 

had  been  taken  in  completely  by  the  trick  played 
on  her,  and  thus  Stroke  now  got  full  information 
of  the  enemy's  doings.  Cathro  having  failed  to 
dislodge  the  Jacobites,  the  seat  of  war  had  been 
changed  by  Victoria  to  the  Dovecot,  whither  her 
despatches  were  now  forwarded.  That  this  last 
one,  of  which  Agnes  of  Kingoldrum  tried  in  vain 
to  obtain  possession,  doubled  the  price  on  the  Pre- 
tender's head,  there  could  be  no  doubt;  but  as 
Miss  Ailie  was  a  notorious  Hanoverian,  only  the 
hunted  prince  himself  knew  why  this  should  make 
her  cry. 

He  hinted  with  a  snigger  something  about  an 
affair  he  had  once  had  with  the  lady. 

The  Widow  and  Sir  Joseph  accepted  this  ex- 
planation, but  it  made  Lady  Griselda  rock  her 
arms  in  irritation. 

The  reports  about  Miss  Ailie's  behaviour  be- 
came more  and  more  alarming.  She  walked  up 
and  down  her  bed-room  now  in  the  middle  of  the 
night.  Every  time  the  knocker  clanked  she  held 
herself  together  with  both  hands.  Agnes  had  or- 
ders not  to  answer  the  door  until  her  mistress  had 
keeked  through  the  window. 

"  She's  expecting  a  veesitor,  methinks,"  said 
Corp.  This  was  his  bright  day. 

"  Ay,"  answered  Agnes,  "  but  is't  a  man-body, 
or  just  a  woman-body  *?  " 

Leaving  the  rebels  in  the  Lair  stunned  by  Vic- 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

toria's  latest  move,  we  now  return  to  Thrums, 
where  Miss  Ailie's  excited  state  had  indeed  been 
the  talk  of  many.  Even  the  gossips,  however,  had 
underestimated  her  distress  of  mind,  almost  as 
much  as  they  misunderstood  its  cause.  You  must 
listen  now  (will  you?)  to  so  mild  a  thing  as  the 
jlong  thin  romance  of  two  maiden  ladies  and  a  stout 
bachelor,  all  beginning  to  be  old  the  day  the  three 
of  them  first  drank  tea  together,  and  that  was  ten 
years  ago. 

Miss  Ailie  and  Miss  Kitty,  you  may  remember, 
were  not  natives  of  Thrums.  They  had  been  born 
and  brought  up  at  Redlintie,  and  on  the  death  of 
their  parents  they  had  remained  there,  the  gauger 
having  left  them  all  his  money,  which  was  just 
sufficient  to  enable  them  to  live  like  ladies,  if  they 
took  tiny  Magenta  Cottage,  and  preferred  an  inex- 
perienced maid.  At  first  their  life  was  very  quiet, 
the  walk  from  eleven  to  one  for  the  good  of  fragile 
Miss  Kitty's  health  its  outstanding  feature.  When 
they  strolled  together  on  the  cliffs,  Miss  Ailie's 
short  thick  figure,  straight  as  an  elvint,  cut  the 
wind  in  two,  but  Miss  Kitty  was  swayed  this  way 
and  that,  and  when  she  shook  her  curls  at  the  wind, 
it  blew  them  roguishly  in  her  face,  and  had  another 
shot  at  them,  as  soon  as  they  were  put  to  rights. 
If  the  two  walked  by  the  shore  (where  the  younger 
sometimes  bathed  her  feet,  the  elder  keeping  a 
sharp  eye  on  land  and  water),  the  sea  behaved  like 

710 


TWO   OLD  MAIDS  AND  A  BACHELOR 

the  wind,  dodging  Miss  Ailie's  ankles  and  snapping 
playfully  at  Miss  Kitty's.  Thus  even  the  ele- 
ments could  distinguish  between  the  sisters,  who 
nevertheless  had  so  much  in  common  that  at  times 
Miss  Ailie  would  look  into  her  mirror  and  sigh  to 
think  that  some  day  Miss  Kitty  might  be  like 
this.  How  Miss  Ailie  adored  Miss  Kitty !  She 
trembled  with  pleasure  if  you  said  Miss  Kitty  was 
pretty,  and  she  dreamed  dreams  in  which  she  her- 
self walked  as  bridesmaid  only.  And  just  as  Miss 
Ailie  could  be  romantic,  Miss  Kitty,  the  roman- 
tic, could  be  prim,  and  the  primness  was  her  own 
as  much  as  the  curls,  but  Miss  Ailie  usually  carried 
it  for  her,  like  a  cloak  in  case  of  rain. 

Not  often  have  two  sweeter  women  grown  to- 
gether on  one  stem.  What  were  the  men  of  Red- 
lintte  about  ?  The  sisters  never  asked  each  other 
this  question,  but  there  were  times  when,  appa- 
rently without  cause,  Miss  Ailie  hugged  Miss  Kitty 
vehemently,  as  if  challenging  the  world,  and  per- 
haps Miss  Kitty  understood. 

Thus  a  year  or  more  passed  uneventfully,  until 
the  one  romance  of  their  lives  befell  them.  It  be- 
gan with  the  reappearance  in  Redlintie  of  Mager- 
ful  Tam,  who  had  come  to  torment  his  father  into 
giving  him  more  money,  but,  finding  he  had  come 
too  late,  did  not  harass  the  sisters.  This  is  perhaps 
the  best  thing  that  can  be  told  of  him,  and,  as  if 
he  knew  this,  he  had  often  told  it  himself  to  Jean 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

Myles,  without  however  telling  her  what  followed. 
For  something  to  his  advantage  did  follow,  and  it 
was  greatly  to  the  credit  of  Miss  Ailie  and  Miss 
Kitty,  though  they  went  about  it  as  timidly  as  if 
they  were  participating  in  a  crime.  Ever  since  they 
learned  of  the  sin  which  had  brought  this  man  into 
the  world  their  lives  had  been  saddened,  for  on  the 
same  day  they  realized  what  a  secret  sorrow  had 
long  lain  at  their  mother's  heart.  Alison  Sibbald 
was  a  very  simple  gracious  lady,  who  never  recov- 
ered from  the  shock  of  discovering  that  she  had 
married  a  libertine ;  yet  she  had  pressed  her  hus- 
band to  do  something  for  his  son,  and  been  greatly 
pained  when  he  refused  with  a  coarse  laugh.  The 
daughters  were  very  like  her  in  nature,  and  though 
the  knowledge  of  what  she  had  suffered  increased 
many  fold  their  love  for  her,  so  that  in  her  last 
days  their  passionate  devotion  to  her  was  the  talk 
of  Redlintie,  it  did  not  blind  them  to  what  seemed 
to  them  to  be  their  duty  to  the  man.  As  their 
father's  son,  they  held,  he  had  a  right  to  a  third  of 
the  gauger's  money,  and  to  withhold  it  from  him, 
now  that  they  knew  his  whereabouts,  would  have 
been  a  form  of  theft.  But  how  to  give  T.  his 
third  ?  They  called  him  T.  from  delicacy,  and 
they  had  never  spoken  to  him.  When  he  passed 
them  in  the  streets,  they  turned  pale,  and,  think- 
ing of  their  mother,  looked  another  way.  Bu, 
they  knew  he  winked. 

312 


TWO   OLD  MAIDS  AND  A  BACHELOR 

At  last,  looking  red  in  one  street,  and  white  in 
another,  but  resolute  in  all,  they  took  their  business 
to  the  offite  of  Mr.  John  McLean,  the  writer,  who 
had  once  escorted  Miss  Kitty  home  from  a  party 
without  anything  coming  of  it,  so  that  it  was  quite 
a  psychological  novel  in  several  volumes.  Now 
Mr.  John  happened  to  be  away  at  the  fishing,  and 
a  reckless  maid  showed  them  into  the  presence  of 
a  strange  man,  who  was  no  other  than  his  brother 
I  vie,  home  for  a  year's  holiday  from  India,  and  nat- 
urally this  extraordinary  occurrence  so  agitated 
them  that  Miss  Ailie  had  told  half  her  story  before 
she  realized  that  Miss  Kitty  was  titting  at  her  dress. 
Then  indeed  she  sought  to  withdraw,  but  Ivie, 
with  the  alarming  yet  not  unpleasing  audacity  of 
his  sex,  said  he  had  heard  enough  to  convince  him 
that  in  this  matter  he  was  qualified  to  take  his 
brother's  place.  But  he  was  not,  for  he  announced, 
"  My  advice  to  you  is  not  to  give  T.  a  halfpenny," 
which  showed  that  he  did  not  even  understand 
what  they  had  come  about. 

They  begged  permission  to  talk  to  each  other 
behind  the  door,  and  presently  returned,  troubled 
but  brave.  Miss  Kitty  whispered  "  Courage!"  and 
this  helped  Miss  Ailie  to  the  deed. 

"  We  have  quite  made  up  our  minds  to  let  T. 
have  the  money,"  she  said,  "  but — but  the  difficulty 
is  the  taking  it  to  him.  Must  we  take  it  in  per- 
son?" 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"  Why  not  ?  "  asked  Ivie,  bewildered. 

"  It  would  be  such  a  painful  meeting  to  us,"  said 
Miss  Ailie. 

"  And  to  him,"  added  simple  Miss  Kitty. 

"You  see  we  have  thought  it  best  not  to— not 
to  know  him,"  said  Miss  Ailie,  faintly. 

"Mother  — "  faltered  Miss  Kitty,  and  at  the 
word  the  eyes  of  both  ladies  began  to  fill. 

Then,  of  course,  Mr.  McLean  discovered  the 
object  of  their  visit,  and  promised  that  his  brother 
should  take  this  delicate  task  off  their  hands,  and 
as  he  bowed  them  out  he  said,  "  Ladies,  I  think 
you  are  doing  a  very  foolish  thing,  and  I  shall  re- 
spect you  for  it  all  my  life."  At  least  Miss  Kitty 
insisted  that  respect  was  the  word,  Miss  Ailie 
thought  he  said  esteem. 

\That  was  how  it  began,  and  it  progressed  for 
nearly  a  year  at  a  rate  that  will  take  away  your 
breath.  On  the  very  next  day  he  met  Miss  Kitty 
in  High  Street,  a  most  awkward  encounter  for  her 
("  for,  you  know,  Ailie,  we  were  never  introduced, 
so  how  could  I  decide  all  in  a  moment  what  to 
do?"),  and  he  raised  his  hat  (the  Misses  Croall 
were  at  their  window  and  saw  the  whole  thing). 
But  we  must  gallop,  like  the  friendship.  He 
bowed  the  first  two  times,  the  third  time  he  shook 
hands  (by  a  sort  of  providence  Miss  Kitty  had  put 
on  her  new  mittens),  the  fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth 
times  he  conversed,  the  seventh  time  he  —  they  re- 


TWO   OLD  MAIDS  AND  A  BACHELOR 

plied  that  they  could  really  not  trouble  him  so  much, 
but  he  said  he  was  going  that  way  at  any  rate ;  the 
eighth  time,  ninth  time,  and  tenth  times  the  figures 
of  two  ladies  and  a  gentleman  might  have  been 
observed,  etc.,  and  either  the  eleventh  or  twelfth 
time  ("  Fancy  our  not  being  sure,  Ailie  "  —  "  It 
has  all  come  so  quickly,  Kitty  ")  he  took  his  first 
dish  of  tea  at  Magenta  Cottage. 

There  were  many  more  walks  after  this,  often 
along  the  cliffs  to  a  little  fishing  village,  over  which 
the  greatest  of  magicians  once  stretched  his  wand, 
so  that  it  became  famous  forever,  as  all  the  world 
saw  except  himself;  and  tea  at  the  cottage  fol- 
lowed, when  Ivie  asked  Miss  Kitty  to  sing  "  The 
Land  o'  the  Leal,"  and  Miss  Ailie  sat  by  the  win- 
dow, taking  in  her  merino,  that  it  might  fit  Miss 
Kitty,  cutting  her  sable  muff  (once  Alison  Sib- 
bald's)  into  wristbands  for  Miss  Kitty's  astrakhan ; 
they  did  not  go  quite  all  the  way  round,  but  men 
are  blind. 

Ivie  was  not  altogether  blind.  The  sisters,  it  is 
to  be  feared,  called  him  the  dashing  McLean,  but 
he  was  at  this  time  nearly  forty  years  old,  an  age 
when  bachelors  like  to  take  a  long  rest  from  think- 
ing of  matrimony,  before  beginning  again.  Fifteen 
years  earlier  he  had  been  in  love,  but  the  girl  had 
not  cared  to  wait  for  him,  and  though  in  India  he 
had  often  pictured  himself  returning  to  Redlintie 
to  gaze  wistfully  at  her  old  home,  when  he  did 

3*5 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

come  back  he  never  went,  because  the  house  was 
a  little  out  of  the  way.  But  unknown  to  him  two 
ladies  went,  to  whom  he  had  told  this  as  a  rather 
dreary  joke.  They  were  ladies  he  esteemed  very 
much,  though  having  a  sense  of  humour  he  some- 
times chuckled  on  his  way  home  from  Magenta 
Cottage,  and  he  thought  out  many  ways  of  adding 
little  pleasures  to  their  lives.  It  was  like  him  to 
ask  Miss  Kitty  to  sing  and  play,  though  he  dis- 
liked music.  He  understood  that  it  is  a  hard 
world  for  single  women,  and  knew  himself  for  a 
very  ordinary  sort  of  man.  If  it  ever  crossed  his 
head  that  Miss  Kitty  would  be  willing  to  marry 
him,  he  felt  genuinely  sorry  at  the  same  time  that 
she  had  not  done  better  long  ago.  He  never  flat- 
tered himself  that  he  could  be  accepted  now,  save 
for  the  good  home  he  could  provide  (he  was  not 
the  man  to  blame  women  for  being  influenced  by 
that),  for  like  most  of  his  sex  he  was  unaware  that 
a  woman  is  never  too  old  to  love  or  to  be  loved ; 
if  they  do  know  it,  the  mean  ones  among  them 
make  a  jest  of  it,  at  which  (God  knows  why)  their 
wives  laugh.  Mr.  McLean  had  been  acquainted 
with  the  sisters  for  months  before  he  was  sure  even 
that  Miss  Kitty  was  his  favourite.  He  found  that 
out  one  evening  when  sitting  with  an  old  friend, 
whose  wife  and  children  were  in  the  room,  gath- 
ered round  a  lamp  and  playing  at  some  child's 
game.  Suddenly  Ivie  McLean  envied  his  friend, 

316 


TWO   OLD  MAIDS  AND  A  BACHELOR 

and  at  the  same  moment  he  thought  tenderly  of 
Miss  Kitty.  But  the  feeling  passed.  He  experi- 
enced it  next  and  as  suddenly  when  arriving  at 
Bombay,  where  some  women  were  waiting  to 
greet  their  husbands. 

Before  he  went  away  the  two  gentlewomen  knew 
that  he  was  not  to  speak.  They  did  not  tell  each 
other  what  was  in  their  minds.  Miss  Kitty  was 
so  bright  during  those  last  days,  that  she  must  have 
deceived  anyone  who  did  not  love  her,  and  Miss 
Ailie  held  her  mouth  very  tight,  and  if  possible 
was  straighter  than  ever,  but  oh,  how  gentle  she 
was  with  Miss  Kitty!  Ivie's  last  two  weeks  in 
the  old  country  were  spent  in  London,  and  during 
that  time  Miss  Kitty  liked  to  go  away  by  herself, 
and  sit  on  a  rock  and  gaze  at  the  sea.  Once  Miss 
Ailie  followed  her  and  would  have  called  him 
a 

"  Don't,  Ailie  ! "  said  Miss  Kitty,  imploringly. 
But  that  night,  when  Miss  Kitty  was  brushing  her 
hair,  she  said  courageously,  "  Ailie,  I  don't  think 
I  should  wear  curls  any  longer.  You  know  I  —  I 
shall  be  thirty-seven  in  August."  And  after  the 
elder  sister  had  become  calm  again,  Miss  Kitty 
said  timidly,  "  You  don't  think  I  have  been  un- 
ladylike, do  you,  Ailie  ?  " 

Such  a  trifle  now  remains  to  tell.  Miss  Kitty 
was  the  better  business  woman  of  the  two,  and 
kept  the  accounts,  and  understood,  as  Miss  Ailie 

3»7 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

could  not  understand,  how  their  little  income  was 
invested,  and  even  knew  what  consols  were,  though 
never  quite  certain  whether  it  was  their  fall  or  rise 
that  is  matter  for  congratulation.  And  after  the 
ship  had  sailed,  she  told  Miss  Ailie  that  nearly  all 
their  money  was  lost,  and  that  she  had  known  it 
for  a  month. 

"  And  you  kept  it  from  me !     Why  ?  " 

"  I  thought,  Ailie,  that  you,  knowing  I  am  not 
strong  —  that  you  —  would  perhaps  tell  him." 

"  And  I  would ! "  cried  Miss  Ailie. 

"  And  then,"  said  Miss  Kitty,  "  perhaps  he,  out 
of  pity,  you  know ! " 

"  Well,  even  if  he  had ! "  said  Miss  Ailie. 

"  I  could  not,  oh,  I  could  not,"  replied  Miss 
Kitty,  flushing ;  "it  —  it  would  not  have  been 
ladylike,  Ailie." 

Thus  forced  to  support  themselves,  the  sisters 
decided  to  keep  school  genteelly,  and,  hearing  that 
there  was  an  opening  in  Thrums,  they  settled  there, 
and  Miss  Kitty  brushed  her  hair  out  now,  and 
with  a  twist  and  a  twirl  ran  it  up  her  fingers  into 
a  net,  whence  by  noon  some  of  it  had  escaped 
through  the  little  windows  and  was  curls  again. 
She  and  Miss  Ailie  were  happy  in  Thrums,  for 
time  took  the  pain  out  of  the  affair  of  Mr.  Mc- 
Lean, until  it  became  not  merely  a  romantic  mem- 
ory, but,  with  the  letters  he  wrote  to  Miss  Kitty 
and  her  answers,  the  great  quiet  pleasure  of  their 

318 


TWO   OLD  MAIDS  AND  A  BACHELOR 

lives.  They  were  friendly  letters  only,  but  Miss 
Kitty  wrote  hers  out  in  pencil  first  and  read  them 
to  Miss  Ailie,  who  had  been  taking  notes  for  them. 

In  the  last  weeks  of  Miss  Kitty's  life  Miss  Ailie 
conceived  a  passionate  unspoken  hatred  of  Mr. 
McLean,  and  her  intention  was  to  write  and  tell 
him  that  he  had  killed  her  darling.  But  owing  to 
the  illness  into  which  she  was  flung  by  Miss  Kitty's 
death,  that  unjust  letter  was  never  written. 

But  why  did  Mr.  McLean  continue  to  write  to 
Miss  Kitty? 

Well,  have  pity  or  be  merciless  as  you  choose. 
For  several  years  Mr.  McLean's  letters  had  been 
the  one  thing  the  sisters  looked  forward  to,  and 
now,  when  Miss  Ailie  was  without  Miss  Kitty, 
must  she  lose  them  also*?  She  never  doubted, 
though  she  may  have  been  wrong,  that,  if  Ivie 
knew  of  Miss  Kitty's  death,  one  letter  would  come 
in  answer,  and  that  the  last.  She  could  not  tell 
him.  In  the  meantime  he  wrote  twice  asking  the 
reason  of  this  long  silence,  and  at  last  Miss  Ailie, 
whose  handwriting  was  very  like  her  sister's,  wrote 
him  a  letter  which  was  posted  at  Tilliedrum  and 
signed  "  Katherine  Cray."  The  thing  seems  mon- 
strous, but  this  gentle  lady  did  it,  and  it  was  never 
so  difficult  to  do  again.  Latterly,  it  had  been  easy. 

This  last  letter  of  Mr.  McLean's  announced  to 
Miss  Kitty  that  he  was  about  to  start  for  home 
"for  good,"  and  he  spoke  in  it  of  coming  to 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Thrums  to  see  the  sisters,  as  soon  as  he  reached 
Redlintie.  Poor  Miss  Ailie !  After  sleepless  nights 
she  trudged  to  the  Tilliedrum  post-office  with  a 
full  confession  of  her  crime,  which  would  be  her 
welcome  home  to  him  when  he  arrived  at  his 
brother's  house.  Many  of  the  words  were  written 
on  damp  blobs.  After  that  she  could  do  nothing 
>ut  wait  for  the  storm,  and  waiting  she  became  so 
meek,  that  Gavinia,  who  loved  her  because  she 
was  "  that  simple,"  said  sorrowfully : 

"  How  is't  you  never  rage  at  me  now,  ma'am  ? 
Pm  sure  it  keepit  you  lightsome,  and  I  likit  to 
hear  the  bum  o't." 

"  And  instead  o'  the  raging  I  was  prigging  for," 
the  soft-hearted  maid  told  her  friends,  "she  gave 
me  a  flannel  petticoat ! "  Indeed,  Miss  Ailie  had 
taken  to  giving  away  her  possessions  at  this  time, 
like  a  woman  who  thought  she  was  on  her  death- 
bed. There  was  something  for  each  of  her  pupils, 
including  —  but  the  important  thing  is  that  there 
was  a  gift  for  Tommy,  which  had  the  effect  of 
planting  the  Hanoverian  Woman  (to  whom  he 
must  have  given  many  uneasy  moments)  more 
securely  on  the  British  Throne. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

A  PENNY  PASS-BOOK 

ELSPETH  conveyed  the  gift  to  Tommy  in  a  brown 
paper  wrapping,  and  when  it  lay  revealed  as  an 
aging  volume  of  Mamma's  Boy,  a  magazine  for  the 
Home,  nothing  could  have  looked  more  harmless. 
But,  ah,  you  never  know.  Hungrily  Tommy  ran 
his  eye  through  the  bill  of  fare  for  something  choice 
to  begin  with,  and  he  found  it.  "  The  Boy  Pirate  " 
it  was  called.  Never  could  have  been  fairer  promise, 
and  down  he  sat'  confidently. 

It  was  a  paper  on  the  boys  who  have  been  un- 
done by  reading  pernicious  fiction.  It  gave  their 
names,  and  the  number  of  pistols  they  had  bought, 
and  what  the  judge  said  when  he  pronounced  sen- 
tence. It  counted  the  sensational  tales  found  be- 
neath the  bed,  and  described  the  desolation  of  the 
mothers  and  sisters.  It  told  the  colour  of  the  father's  » 
hair  before  and  afterwards. 

Tommy  flung  the  thing  from  him,  picked  it  up 
again,  and  read  on  uneasily,  and  when  at  last  he 
rose  he  was  shrinking  from  himself.  In  hopes  that 
he  might  sleep  it  off  he  went  early  to  bed,  but  his 

321 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

contrition  was  still  with  him  in  the  morning.  Then 
Elspeth  was  shown  the  article  which  had  saved 
him,  and  she,  too,  shuddered  at  what  she  had  been, 
though  her  remorse  was  but  a  poor  display  beside 
his,  he  was  so  much  better  at  everything  than  El- 
speth. Tommy's  distress  of  mind  was  so  genuine 
and  so  keen  that  it  had  several  hours'  start  of  his 
admiration  of  it;  and  it  was  still  sincere,  though 
he  himself  had  become  gloomy,  when  he  told  his 
followers  that  they  were  no  more.  Grizel  heard 
his  tale  with  disdain,  and  said  she  hated  Miss 
Ailie  for  giving  him  the  silly  book,  but  he  re- 
proved these  unchristian  sentiments,  while  admit- 
ting that  Miss  Ailie  had  played  on  him  a  scurvy 
trick. 

"But  you're  glad  you've  repented,  Tommy," 
Elspeth  reminded  him,  anxiously. 

"  Ay,  I'm  glad,"  he  answered,  without  heartiness. 

"Well,  gin  you  repent  I'll  repent  too,"  said 
Corp,  always  ready  to  accept  Tommy  without 
question. 

"  You'll  be  happier,"  replied  Tommy,  sourly. 

"Ay,  to  be  good's  the  great  thing,"  Corp 
growled ;  "  but,  Tommy,  could  we  no  have  just  one 
michty  blatter,  methinks,  to  end  up  wi'  ?  " 

This,  of  course,  could  not  be,  and  Saturday  fore- 
noon found  Tommy  wandering  the  streets  listlessly, 
very  happy,  you  know,  but  inclined  to  kick  at  any 
one  who  came  near,  such,  for  instance,  as  the  stranger 

322 


A   PENNY   PASS-BOOK 

who  asked  him  in  the  square  if  he  could  point  out 
the  abode  of  Miss  Ailie  Cray. 

Tommy  led  the  way,  casting  some  converted 
looks  at  the  gentleman,  and  judging  him  to  be  the 
mysterious  unknown  in  whom  the  late  Captain 
Stroke  had  taken  such  a  reprehensible  interest. 
He  was  a  stout,  red-faced  man,  stepping  firmly 
into  the  fifties,  with  a  beard  that  even  the  most 
converted  must  envy,  and  a  frown  sat  on  his  brows 
all  the  way,  proving  him  possibly  ill-tempered,  but 
also  one  of  the  notable  few  who  can  think  hard 
about  one  thing  for  at  least  five  consecutive  min- 
utes. Many  took  a  glint  at  him  as  he  passed,  but 
missed  the  frown,  they  were  wondering  so  much 
why  the  fur  of  his  heavy  top-coat  was  on  the  inside, 
where  it  made  little  show,  save  at  blasty  corners. 

Miss  Ailie  was  in  her  parlour,  trying  to  give  her 
mind  to  a  blue  and  white  note-book,  but  when  she 
saw  who  was  coming  up  the  garden  she  dropped 
the  little  volume  and  tottered  to  her  bedroom. 
She  was  there  when  Gavinia  came  up  to  announce 
that  she  had  shown  a  gentleman  into  the  blue-and- 
white  room,  who  gave  the  name  of  Ivie  McLean. 
"  Tell  him  —  I  shall  come  down  —  presently," 
gasped  Miss  Ailie,  and  then  Gavinia  was  sure  this 
was  the  man  who  was  making  her  mistress  so  un- 
happy. 

"  She's  so  easily  flichtered  now,"  Gavinia  told 
Tommy  in  the  kitchen,  "that  for  fear  o*  starting 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

her  I  never  whistle  at  my  work  without  telling  her 
I'm  to  do't,  and  if  I  fall  on  the  stair,  my  first 
thought  is  to  jump  up  and  cry,  '  It  was  just  me 
tum'ling.'  And  now  I  believe  this  brute'll  be  the 
death  o'  her." 

"  But  what  can  he  do  to  her  ?  " 

"  I  dinna  ken,  but  she's  greeting  sair,  and  you 
can  hear  how  he's  rampaging  up  and  down  the 
blue-and-white  room.  Listen  to  his  thrawn  feet! 
He's  raging  because  she's  so  long  in  coming  down, 
and  come  she  daurna.  Oh,  the  poor  crittur ! " 

Now,  Tommy  was  very  fond  of  his  old  school- 
mistress, and  he  began  to  be  unhappy  with  Gavinia. 

"She  hasna  a  man-body  in  the  world  to  take 
care  o'  her,"  sobbed  the  girl. 

"  Has  she  no  *?  "  cried  Tommy,  fiercely,  and  un- 
der one  of  the  impulses  that  so  easily  mastered 
him  he  marched  into  the  blue-and-white  room. 

"Well,  my  young  friend,  and  what  may  you 
want  *?  "  asked  Mr.  McLean,  impatiently. 

Tommy  sat  down  and  folded  his  arms.  "  I'm 
going  to  sit  here  and  see  what  you  do  to  Miss 
Ailie,"  he  said,  determinedly. 

Mr.  McLean  said  "  Oh  !  "  and  then  seemed  fav- 
ourably impressed,  for  he  added  quietly:  "  She  is  a 
friend  of  yours,  is  she  ?  Well,  I  have  no  inten- 
tion of  hurting  her." 

"  You  had  better  no,"  replied  Tommy,  stoutly, 

"Did  she  send  you  here?" 
324 


A   PENNY   PASS-BOOK 

"No;  I  came  mysel'." 

"To  protect  her?" 

There  was  the  irony  in  it  that  so  puts  up  a  boy's 
dander.  "  Dinna  think,"  said  Tommy,  hotly,  "  that 
I'm  fleid  at  you,  though  I  have  no  beard  —  at 
least,  I  hinna  it  wi'  me." 

At  this  unexpected  conclusion  a  smile  crossed 
Mr.  McLean's  face,  but  was  gone  in  an  instant. 
"  I  wish  you  had  laughed,"  said  Tommy,  on  the' ' 
watch;  "once  a  body  laughs  he  canna  be  angry 
no  more,"  which  was  pretty  good  even  for  Tommy. 
It  made  Mr.  McLean  ask  him  why  he  was  so  fond 
of  Miss  Ailie. 

"  I'm  the  only  man-body  she  has,"  he  answered. 

"  Oh  ?     But  why  are  you  her  man-body  *?  " 

The  boy  could  think  of  no  better  reason  than 
this :  "  Because  —  because  she's  so  sair  in  need  o' 
ane."  (There  were  moments  when  one  liked 
Tommy.) 

Mr.  McLean  turned  to  the  window,  and  perhaps 
forgot  that  he  was  not  alone.  "Well,  what  are  you 
thinking  about  so  deeply  *?  "  he  asked  by  and  by. 

"  I  was  trying  to  think  o'  something  that  would 
gar  you  laugh,"  answered  Tommy,  very  earnestly, 
and  was  surprised  to  see  that  he  had  nearly  done  it. 

The  blue  and  white  note-book  was  lying  on  the 
floor  where  Miss  Ailie  had  dropped  it.  Often  in 
Tommy's  presence  she  had  consulted  this  work, 
and  certainly  its  effect  on  her  was  the  reverse  of 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

laughter;  but  once  he  had  seen  Dr.  McQueen 
pick  it  up  and  roar  over  every  page.  With  an  in- 
spiration Tommy  handed  the  book  to  Mr.  Mc- 
Lean. "  It  made  the  doctor  laugh,"  he  said  per- 
suasively. 

"  Go  away,"  said  Ivie,  impatiently ;  "  I  am  in 
no  mood  for  laughing." 

"  I  tell  you  what,"  answered  Tommy,  "  I'll  go, 
if  you  promise  to  look  at  it,"  and  to  be  rid  of  him 
the  man  agreed.  For  the  next  quarter  of  an  hour 
Tommy  and  Gavinia  were  very  near  the  door  of 
the  blue-and-white  room,  Tommy  whispering  de- 
jectedly, "  I  hear  no  laughing,"  and  Gavinia  reply- 
ing, "  But  he  has  quieted  down." 

Mr.  McLean  had  a  right  to  be  very  angry,  but 
God  only  can  say  whether  he  had  a  right  to  be  as 
angry  as  he  was.  The  book  had  been  handed  to 
him  open,  and  he  was  laying  it  down  unread  when 
a  word  underlined  caught  his  eye.  It  was  his 
own  name.  Nothing  in  all  literature  arrests  our 
attention  quite  so  much  as  that.  He  sat  down  to 
the  book.  It  was  just  about  this  time  that  Miss 
Ailie  went  on  her  knees  to  pray. 

It  was  only  a  penny  pass-book.  On  its  blue 
cover  had  been  pasted  a  slip  of  white  paper,  and 
on  the  paper  was  written,  in  blue  ink,  "Alison 
Cray,"  with  a  date  nearly  nine  years  old.  The 
contents  were  in  Miss  Ailie's  prim  handwriting; 
jottings  for  her  own  use  begun  about  the  time 

326 


A   PENNY    PASS-BOOK 

when  the  sisters,  trembling  at  their  audacity,  had 
opened  school,  and  consulted  and  added  to  fitfully 
ever  since.  Hours  must  have  been  spent  in  erasing 
the  blots  and  other  blemishes  so  carefully.  The 
r  tiny  volume  was  not  yet  full,  and  between  its  two 
last  written  pages  lay  a  piece  of  blue  blotting-paper 
neatly  cut  to  the  size  of  the  leaf. 

Some  of  these  notes  were  transcripts  from  books, 
some  contained  the  advice  of  friends,  others  were 
doubtless  the  result  of  talks  with  Miss  Kitty  (from 
whom  there  were  signs  that  the  work  had  been 
kept  a  secret),  many  were  Miss  Ailie's  own.  An 
entry  of  this  kind  was  frequent :  "  If  you  are  un- 
certain of  the  answer  to  a  question  in  arithmetic, 
it  is  advisable  to  leave  the  room  on  some  pretext 
and  work  out  the  sum  swiftly  in  the  passage." 
Various  pretexts  were  suggested,  and  this  one 
(which  had  an  insufficient  line  through  it)  had 
been  inserted  by  Dr.  McQueen  on  that  day  when 
Tommy  saw  him  chuckling,  "  You  pretend  that 
your  nose  is  bleeding,  and  putting  your  handker- 
chief to  it,  retire  hastily,  the  supposition  being  that 
you  have  gone  to  put  the  key  of  the  blue-and- 
white  room  down  your  back."  Evidently  these 
small  deceptions  troubled  Miss  Ailie,  for  she  had 
written,  "  Such  subterfuge  is,  I  hope,  pardonable, 
the  object  being  the  maintenance  of  scholastic  dis- 
cipline." On  another  page,  where  the  arithmetic 
was  again  troubling  her,  this  appeared :  "  If  Kitty 

327 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

were  aware  that  the  squealing  of  the  slate-pencils 
gave  me  such  headaches,  she  would  insist  on 
again  taking  the  arithmetic  class,  though  it  always 
makes  her  ill.  Surely,  then,  I  am  justified  in  say- 
ing that  the  sound  does  not  distress  me."  To  this 
the  doctor  had  added,  "  You  are  a  brick." 

There  were  two  pages  headed  NEVER,  which 
mentioned  ten  things  that  Miss  Ailie  must  never 
do ;  among  them,  "  Never  let  the  big  boys  know 
you  are  afraid  of  them.  To  awe  them,  stamp 
with  the  foot,  speak  in  a  loud  ferocious  voice,  and 
look  them  unflinchingly  in  the  face." 

"  Punishments "  was  another  heading,  but  she 
had  written  it  small,  as  if  to  prevent  herself  seeing 
it  each  time  she  opened  the  book.  Obviously 
her  hope  had  been  to  dispose  of  Punishment  in  a 
few  lines,  but  it  would  have  none  of  that,  and  Mr. 
McLean  found  it  stalking  from  page  to  page. 
Miss  Ailie  favoured  the  cane  in  preference  to  tawse, 
which  "often  flap  round  your  neck  as  you  are 
about  to  bring  them  down."  Except  in  desperate 
cases  "  it  will  probably  be  found  sufficient  to  order 
the  offender  to  bring  the  cane  to  you."  Then  fol- 
lowed a  note  about  rubbing  the  culprit's  hand 
"with  sweet  butter  or  dripping"  should  you  have 
struck  too  hard. 

Dispiriting  item,  that  on  resuming  his  seat  the 
chastised  one  is  a  hero  to  his  fellows  for  the  rest 
of  the  day.  Item,  that  Master  John  James  nar- 


A  PENNY   PASS-BOOK 

tray  knows  she  hurts  her  own  hand  more  than 
his.  Item,  that  John  James  promised  to  be  good 
throughout  the  session  if  she  would  let  him  thrash 
the  bad  ones.  Item,  that  Master  T.  Sandys,  him- 
self under  correction,  explained  to  her  (the  artistic 
instinct  again)  how  to  give  the  cane  a  waggle 
when  descending,  which  would  double  its  nip. 
Item,  that  Elsie  Dundas  offered  to  receive  Francie 
Crabb's  punishment  for  two  snaps.  Item,  that 
Master  Gavin  Dishart,  for  what  he  considered  the 
honour  of  his  school,  though  aware  he  was  imperil- 
ling his  soul,  fought  Hendry  Dickie  of  Cathro's 
for  saying  Miss  Ailie  could  not  draw  blood  with 
one  stroke. 

The  effect  on  Miss  Ailie  of  these  mortifying 
discoveries  could  be  read  in  the  paragraph  headed 
A  MOTHER'S  METHOD,  which  was  copied  from  a 

newspaper.     Mrs.  E ,  it  seems,  was  the  mother 

of  four  boys  (residing  at  D—  — ),  and  she  sub- 
jected them  frequently  to  corporal  chastisement 

without  permanent  spiritual  result.     Mrs.  E. , 

by  the  advice  of  another  lady,  Mrs.  K—  -  (mother 
of  six),  then  had  recourse  to  the  following  inter- 
esting experiment.  Instead  of  punishing  her  chil- 
dren physically  when  they  misbehaved,  she  now  in 
their  presence  wounded  herself  by  striking  her  left 
hand  severely  with  a  ruler  held  in  the  right.  Soon 
their  better  natures  were  touched,  and  the  four 
implored  her  to  desist,  promising  with  tears  never 

020 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

to  offend  again.     From  that  hour  Mrs. 
little  trouble  with  her  boys. 

It  was  recorded  in  the  blue  and  white  book  how 
Miss  Ailie  gave  this  plan  a  fair  trial,  but  her  boys 
must  have  been  darker  characters  than  Mrs.  E—  —  's, 
for  it  merely  set  them  to  watching  each  other,  so 
that  they  might  cry  out,  "  Pandy  yourself  quick, 
Miss  Ailie;  Gavin  Dishart's  drawing  the  devil  on 
his  slate."  Nevertheless,  when  Miss  Ailie  an- 
nounced a  return  to  more  conventional  methods, 
Francie  was  put  up  (with  threats)  to  say  that  he 
suffered  agonies  of  remorse  every  time  she  pandied 
herself  for  him,  but  the  thing  had  been  organized 
in  a  hurry  and  Francie  was  insufficiently  primed, 
and  on  cross-examination  he  let  out  that  he  thought 
remorse  was  a  swelling  of  the  hands. 

Miss  Ailie  was  very  humble-minded,  and  her 
entries  under  THE  TEACHER  TAUGHT  were  all  ad- 
monitions for  herself.  Thus  she  chided  herself  for 
cowardice  because  "  Delicate  private  reasons  have 
made  me  avoid  all  mention  of  India  in  the  ge- 
ography classes.  Kitty  says  quite  calmly  that  this 
is  fair  neither  to  our  pupils  nor  to  I  -  M—  —  . 
The  courage  of  Kitty  in  this  matter  is  a  constant 
rebuke  to  me."  Except  on  a  few  occasions  Mr. 
McLean  found  that  he  was  always  referred  to  as 


Quite  early  in  the  volume  Miss  Ailie  knew  that 
her  sister's  hold  on  life  was  loosening.     "  How 

330 


A    PENNY    PASS-BOOK 

bright  the  world  suddenly  seems,"  Mr.  McLean 
read,  "  when  there  is  the  tiniest  improvement  in 
the  health  of  an  invalid  one  loves."  Is  it  laughable 
that  such  a  note  as  this  is  appended  to  a  recipe  for 
beef-tea  ?  "  It  is  surely  not  very  wicked  to  pretend 
to  Kitty  that  I  keep  some  of  it  for  myself;  she 
would  not  take  it  all  if  she  knew  I  dined  on  the 
beef  it  was  made  from."  Other  entries  showed  too 
plainly  that  Miss  Ailie  stinted  herself  of  food  to 
provide  delicacies  for  Miss  Kitty.  No  doubt  her 
expenses  were  alarming  her  when  she  wrote  this: 
"An  interesting  article  in  the  Mentor  says  that 
nearly  all  of  us  eat  and  drink  too  much.  Were 
we  to  mortify  our  stomachs  we  should  be  healthier 
animals  and  more  capable  of  sustained  thought. 
The  word  animal  in  this  connection  is  coarse,  but 
the  article  is  most  impressive,  and  a  crushing  reply 
to  Dr.  McQueen's  assertion  that  the  editor  drinks. 
In  the  school-room  I  have  frequently  found  my 
thoughts  of  late  wandering  from  classwork,  and  I 
hastily  ascribed  it  to  sitting  up  during  the  night 
with  Kitty  or  to  my  habit  of  listening  lest  she 
should  be  calling  for  me.  Probably  I  had  over- 
eaten, and  I  must  mortify  the  stomach.  A  glass 
of  hot  water  with  half  a  spoonful  of  sugar  in  it  is 
highly  recommended  as  a  light  supper." 

"  How  long  ago  it  may  seem  since  yesterday ! " 
Do  you  need  to  be  told  on  what  dark  day  Miss 
Ailie  discovered  that?  "I  used  to  pray  that  I 

33 1 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

should  be  taken  first,  but  I  was  both  impious  and 
selfish,  for  how  could  fragile  Kitty  have  fought  on 
alone?" 

In  dme  happiness  again  returned  to  Miss  Ailie  ; 
of  all  our  friends  it  is  the  one  most  reluctant  to 
leave  us  on  this  side  of  the  grave.  It  came  at  first 
disguised,  in  the  form  of  duties,  old  and  new;  and 
stealthily,  when  Miss  Ailie  was  not  looking,  it 
mixed  with  the  small  worries  and  joys  that  had 
been  events  while  Miss  Kitty  lived,  and  these  it 
converted  once  more  into  events,  where  Miss  Ailie 
found  it  lurking,  and  at  first  she  would  not  take  it 
back  to  her  heart,  but  it  crept  in  without  her  know- 
ing. And  still  there  were  I M 's  let- 
ters. "  They  are  all  I  have  to  look  forward  to," 
she  wrote  in  self-defence.  "  I  shall  never  write  to 
I—  -  M—  —  again,"  was  another  entry,  but  Mr. 
McLean  found  on  the  same  page,  "  I  have  written 
to  I —  -  M—  — ,  but  do  not  intend  posting  it," 
and  beneath  that  was,  "God  forgive  me,  I  have 
posted  it." 

The  troubles  with  arithmetic  were  becoming 
more  terrible.  "  I  am  never  really  sure  about  the 
decimals,"  she  wrote. 

A  Professor  of  Memory  had  appeared  at  the 
Muckley,  and  Miss  Ailie  admits  having  given  him 
half-a-crown  to  explain  his  system  to  her.  But 
when  he  was  gone  she  could  not  remember  whe- 
ther you  multiplied  everything  by  ten  before  di- 

332 


A   PENNY    PASS-BOOK 

viding  by  five  and  subtracting  a  hundred,  or  began 
by  dividing  and  doing  something  underhand  with 
the  cube  root.  Then  Mr.  Dishart,  who  had  a  mi- 
croscope, wanted  his  boy  to  be  taught  science,  and 
several  experiments  were  described  at  length  in 
the  book,  one  of  them  dealing  with  a  penny,  H, 
and  a  piston,  X  Y*  and  you  do  things  to  the  piston 
"  and  then  the  penny  comes  to  the  surface."  "  But 
it  never  does,"  Miss  Ailie  wrote  sorrowfully;  per- 
haps she  was  glad  when  Master  Dishart  was  sent 
to  another  school. 

"  Though  I  teach  the  girls  the  pianoforte  I  find 
that  I  cannot  stretch  my  fingers  as  I  used  to  do. 
Kitty  used  to  take  the  music,  and  I  often  remem- 
ber this  suddenly  when  superintending  a  lesson. 
It  is  a  pain  to  me  that  so  many  wish  to  acquire 
'  The  Land  o'  the  Leal,'  which  Kitty  sang  so  often 
to  I M at  Magenta  Cottage." 

Even  the  French,  of  which  Miss  Ailie  had  once 
been  very  proud,  was  slipping  from  her.  "  Kitty 
and  I  kept  up  our  French  by  translating  I— 

M 's  letters  and  comparing  our  versions;  but 

now  that  this  stimulus  is  taken  away  I  find  that  I 
am  forgetting  my  French.  Or  is  it  only  that  I 
am  growing  old  *?  too  old  to  keep  school  ?  "  This 
dread  was  beginning  to  haunt  Miss  Ailie,  and  the 
pages  between  which  the  blotting-paper  lay  re- 
vealed that  she  had  written  to  the  editor  of  the 
Mentor  asking  up  to  what  age  he  thought  a  needy 

333 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

gentlewoman  had  a  right  to  teach.  The  answer 
was  not  given,  but  her  comment  on  it  told  every- 
thing. "  I  asked  him  to  be  severely  truthful,  so 
that  I  cannot  resent  his  reply.  But  if  I  take  his 
advice,  how  am  I  to  live  ?  And  if  I  do  not  take 
it,  I  fear  I  am  but  a  stumbling-block  in  the  way 
of  true  education." 

That  is  a  summary  of  what  Mr.  McLean  read 
in  the  blue  and  white  book ;  remember,  you  were 
warned  not  to  expect  much.  And  Tommy  and 
Gavinia  listened,  and  Tommy  said,  "  I  hear  no 
laughing,"  and  Gavinia  answered,  "  But  he  has 
quieted  down,"  and  upstairs  Miss  Ailie  was  on  her 
knees.  A  time  came  when  Mr.  McLean  could 
find  something  to  laugh  at  in  that  little  pass-book, 
but  it  was  not  then,  not  even  when  he  reached  the 
end.  He  left  something  on  the  last  page  instead. 
At  least  I  think  it  must  have  been  he  :  Miss  Ailie's 
tears  could  not  have  been  so  long  a-drying. 

You  may  rise,  now,  Miss  Ailie;  your  prayer  is 
granted. 


334 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

TOMMY  REPENTS,  AND   IS   NONE  THE   WORSE  FOR   IT 

MR.  McLEAN  wrote  a  few  reassuring  words  to  Miss 
Ailie,  and  having  told  Gavinia  to  give  the  note  to 
her  walked  quietly  out  of  the  house ;  he  was  com- 
ing back  after  he  had  visited  Miss  Kitty's  grave. 
Gavinia,  however,  did  not  know  this,  and  having 
delivered  the  note  she  returned  dolefully  to  the 
kitchen  to  say  to  Tommy,  "  His  letter  maun  have 
been  as  thraun  as  himsel',  for  as  soon  as  she  read 
it,  down  she  plumped  on  her  knees  again." 

But  Tommy  was  not  in  the  kitchen ;  he  was  on 
the  garden-wall  watching  Miss  Ailie's  persecutor. 

"  Would  it  no  be  easier  to  watch  him  frae  the 
gate  ?  "  suggested  Gavinia,  who  had  not  the  true 
detective  instinct. 

Tommy  disregarded  her  womanlike  question ;  a 
great  change  had  come  over  him  since  she  went 
upstairs;  his  head  now  wobbled  on  his  shoulders 
like  a  little  balloon  that  wanted  to  cut  its  connec- 
tion with  earth  and  soar. 

"  What  makes  you  look  so  queer  ?  "  cried  the 
startled  maid.  "  I  thought  you  was  converted." 

335 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

44  So  I  am,"  he  shouted,  "  I'm  more  converted 
than  ever,  and  yet  I  can  do  it  just- the  same !  Ga- 
vinia,  I've  found  a  wy ! " 

He  was  hurrying  off  on  Mr.  McLean's  trail,  but 
turned  to  say,  "Gavinia,  do  you  ken  wha  that 
man  is  ?  " 

"Ower  weel  I  ken,"  she  answered,  "it's  Mr. 
McLean." 

"McLean!"  he  echoed  scornfully,  "ay,  I've 
heard  that's  one  of  the  names  he  goes  by,  but 
hearken,  and  I'll  tell  you  wha  he  really  is.  That's 
the  scoundrel  Stroke ! " 

No  wonder  Gavinia  was  flabbergasted.  "  Wha 
are  you  then  ?  "  she  cried. 

"I'm  the  Champion  of  Dames,"  he  replied 
loftily,  and  before  she  had  recovered  from  this  he 
was  stalking  Mr.  McLean  in  the  cemetery. 

Miss  Kitty  sleeps  in  a  beautiful  hollow  called 
the  Basin,  but  the  stone  put  up  to  her  memory 
hardly  marks  the  spot  now,  for  with  a  score  of 
others  it  was  blown  on  its  face  by  the  wind  that 
uprooted  so  many  trees  in  the  Den,  and  as  it  fell 
it  lies.  From  the  Basin  to  the  rough  road  that 
clings  like  a  belt  to  the  round  cemetery  dyke  is 
little  more  th^n  a  jump,  and  shortly  after  Miss 
Kitty's  grave  had  been  pointed  out  to  him,  Mr. 
McLean  was  seen  standing  there  hat  in  hand  by  a 
man  on  the  road.  This  man  was  Dr.  McQueen 
hobbling  home  from  the  Forest  Muir;  he  did  not 


TOMMY   REPENTS 

hobble  as  a  rule,  but  hobble  everyone  must  on 
that  misshapen  brae,  except  Murdoch  Gelatley, 
who,  being  short  in  one  leg  elsewhere,  is  here  the 
only  straight  man.  McQueen's  sharp  eyes,  how- 
ever, picked  out  not  only  the  stranger  but  Tommy 
crouching  behind  Haggert's  stone,  and  him  did 
the  doctor's  famous  crook  staff  catch  in  the  neck 
and  whisk  across  the  dyke. 

"What  man  is  that  you're  watching,  you  mys- 
terious loon?"  McQueen  demanded,  curiously; 
but  of  course  Tommy  would  not  divulge  so  big  a 
secret.  Now  the  one  weakness  of  this  large-hearted 
old  bachelor  (perhaps  it  is  a  professional  virtue) 
was  a  devouring  inquisitiveness,  and  he  would  be 
troubled  until  he  discovered  who  was  the  stranger 
standing  in  such  obvious  emotion  by  the  side  of 
an  old  grave.  "  Well,  you  must  come  back  with 
me  to  the  surgery,  for  I  want  you  to  run  an  errand 
for  me,"  he  said  testily,  hoping  to  pump  the  boy 
by  the  way,  but  Tommy  dived  beneath  his  stick 
and  escaped.  This  rasped  the  doctor's  temper, 
which  was  unfortunate  for  Grizel,  whom  he  caught 
presently  peeping  in  at  his  surgery  window.  A 
dozen  times  of  late  she  had  wondered  whether  she 
should  ask  him  to  visit  her  mamma,  and  though 
the  Painted  Lady  had  screamed  in  terror  at  the 
proposal,  being  afraid  of  doctors,  Grizel  would 
have  ventured  ere  now,  had  it  not  b~*n  far  her 
mistaken  conviction  that  he  was  a  hard  man.  wno 

337 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

would  only  flout  her.  It  had  once  come  to  her 
ears  that  he  had  said  a  woman  like  her  mamma 
could  demoralize  a  whole  town,  with  other  harsh 
remarks,  doubtless  exaggerated  in  the  repetition, 
and  so  he  was  the  last  man  she  dared  think  of 
going  to  for  help,  when  he  should  have  been  the 
first.  Nevertheless  she  had  come  now,  and  a  soft 
word  from  him,  such  as  he  gave  most  readily  to 
all  who  were  in  distress,  would  have  drawn  her 
pitiful  tale  from  her,  but  he  was  in  a  grumpy 
mood,  and  had  heard  none  of  the  rumours  about 
her  mother's  being  ill,  which  indeed  were  only 
common  among  the  Monypenny  children,  and  his 
first  words  checked  her  confidences.  "  What  are 
you  hanging  about  my  open  window  for  *? "  he 
cried  sharply. 

"Did  you  think  I  wanted  to  steal  anything?" 
replied  the  indignant  child. 

" 1  won't  say  but  what  I  had  some  such  thait." 

She  turned  to  leave  him,  but  he  hooked  her  with 
his  staff*.  "  As  you're  here,"  he  said,  "  will  you  go 
an  errand  for  me  ?  " 

"No,"  she  told  him  promptly;  "I  don't  like 
you." 

"There's  no  love  lost  between  us,'  he  replied, 
"for  I  think  you  are  the  dourest  lassie  I  ever 
clapped  eyes  on,  but  there's  no  other  litlin  handy, 
so  you  must  do  as  you  are  bid,  and  take  this  bottle 
to  Ballingail's." 

338 


TOMMY   REPENTS 

"  Is  it  a  medicine  bottle  ?  "  she  asked,  with  sud- 
den interest. 

"  Yes,  it's  medicine.  Do  you  know  Ballingall's 
house  in  the  West  town  end  ?  " 

"  Ballingall  who  has  the  little  school  ?  " 

"  The  same,  but  I  doubt  he'll  keep  school  no 
longer." 

"Is  he  dying?" 

"  I'm  afraid  there's  no  doubt  of  it.  Will  you  go?" 

"  I  should  love  to  go,"  she  cried. 

"  Love ! "  he  echoed,  looking  at  her  with  dis- 
pleasure. "  You  can't  love  to  go,  so  talk  no  more 
nonsense,  but  go,  and  I'll  give  you  a  bawbee." 

"  I  don't  want  a  bawbee,"  she  said.  "  Do  you 
think  they  will  let  me  go  in  to  see  Ballingall  ?  " 

The  doctor  frowned.  "  What  makes  you  want 
to  see  a  dying  man  ?  "  he  demanded. 

"  I  should  just  love  to  see  him  !  "  she  exclaimed, 
and  she  added  determinedly,  "  I  won't  give  up 
the  bottle  until  they  let  me  in." 

He  thought  her  an  unpleasant,  morbid  girl,  but 
"  that  is  no  affair  of  mine,"  he  said,  shrugging  his 
shoulders,  and  he  gave  her  the  bottle  to  deliver. 
Before  taking  it  to  Ballingall's,  however,  she  com- 
mitted a  little  crime.  She  bought  an  empty  bot- 
tle at  the  'Sosh,  and  poured  into  it  some  of  the 
contents  of  the  medicine  bottle,  which  she  then 
filled  up  with  water.  She  dared  try  no  other  way 
of  getting  medicine  for  her  mother,  and  was  too 

339 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

ignorant  to  know  that  there  are  different  drugs  K. 
different  ailments. 

Grizel  not  only  contrived  to  get  in  to  see  Bal- 
lingall,  but  stayed  by  his  side  for  several  hours,  and 
when  she  came  out  it  was  night-time.  On  her 
way  home  she  saw  a  light  moving  in  the  Den, 
where  she  had  expected  to  play  no  more,  and  she 
could  not  prevent  her  legs  from  running  joyously 
toward  it.  So  when  Corp,  rising  out  of  the  dark- 
ness, deftly  cut  her  throat,  she  was  not  so  angry 
as  she  should  have  been. 

"'I'm  so  glad  we  are  to  play  again,  after  all, 
Corp,"  she  said ;  but  he  replied  grandly,  "  Thou 
little  kennest  wha  you're  speaking  to,  my  gentle 
jade." 

He  gave  a  curious  hitch  to  his  breeches,  but  it 
only  puzzled  her.  "I  wear  gallowses  no  more," 
he  explained,  lifting  his  waistcoat  to  show  that  his 
braces  now  encircled  him  as  a  belt,  but  even  then 
she  did  not  understand.  "  Know,  then,"  said  Corp, 
sternly,  "  I  am  Ben  the  Boatswain." 

"  And  am  I  not  the  Lady  Griselda  any  more  ?  " 
she  asked. 

"  I'm  no  sure,"  he  confessed ;  *'  but  if  you  are. 
there's  a  price  on  your  head." 

"What  is  Tommy?" 

"  I  dinna  ken  yet,  but  Gavinia  says  he  telled 
her  he's  Champion  of  Damns.  I  kenna  what 
Elspeth'll  say  to  that." 

340 


TOMMY   REPENTS 

Grizel  was  starting  for  the  Lair,  but  he  caught 
her  by  the  skirt. 

" Is  he  not  at  the  Lair?  "  she  inquired. 

"  We  knowest  it  not,"  he  answered  gravely. 
"We're  looking  for't,"  he  added  with  some  awe; 
"  we've  been  looking  for't  this  three  year."  Then, 
in  a  louder  voice,  "  If  you  can  guide  us  to  it,  my 
pretty  trifle,  you'll  be  richly  rewarded." 

"  But  where  is  he  <?     Don't  you  know  *?  " 

"Fine  I  knowest,  but  it  wouldna  be  mous  to 
tell  you,  for  I  kenna  whether  you  be  friend  or 
foe.  What's  that  you  're  carrying  ?  " 

"It  is  a  —  a  medicine  bottle." 

"Gie  me  a  sook!" 

"  No." 

"  Just  one,"  begged  Corp,  "  and  I'll  tell  you 
where  he  is." 

He  got  his  way,  and  smacked  his  lips  unctuously. 

"  Now,  where  is  Tommy  ?  " 

"  Put  your  face  close  to  mine,"  said  Corp,  and 
then  he  whispered  hoarsely,  "  He's  in  a  spleet  new 
Lair,  writing  out  bills  wi'  a'  his  might,  offering  five 
hunder  crowns  reward  for  Stroke's  head,  dead  or 
alive!" 

The  new  haunt  was  a  deserted  house,  that  stood, 
very  damp,  near  a  little  waterfall  to  the  east  of  the 
Den.  Bits  of  it  well  planted  in  the  marsh  adhere 
doggedly  together  to  this  day,  but  even  then  the 

341 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

roof  was  off  and  the  chimney  lay  in  a  heap  on 
the  ground,  like  blankets  that  have  slipped  off 
a  bed. 

This  was  the  good  ship  Ailie,  lying  at  anchor, 
man-of-war,  thirty  guns,  a  cart-wheel  to  steer  it  by, 
T.  Sandys,  commander. 

On  the  following  Saturday,  Ben  the  Boatswain 
piped  all  hands,  and  Mr.  Sandys  delivered  a  speech 
of  the  bluff,  straightforward  kind  that  sailors  love. 
Here,  unfortunately,  it  must  be  condensed.  He 
reminded  them  that  three  years  had  passed  since 
their  gracious  queen  (cheers)  sent  them  into  these 
seas  to  hunt  down  the  Pretender  (hisses).  Their 
ship  had  been  christened  the  Ailie,  because  its  ob- 
ject was  to  avenge  the  insults  offered  by  the  Pre- 
tender to  a  lady  of  that  name  for  whom  everyone 
of  them  would  willingly  die.  Like  all  his  race  the 
Pretender,  or  Stroke,  as  he  called  himself,  was  a 
torment  to  single  women;  he  had  not  only  stolen 
all  this  lady's  wealth,  but  now  he  wanted  to  make 
her  walk  the  plank,  a  way  of  getting  rid  of  ene- 
mies the  mere  mention  of  which  set  the  blood  of 
all  honest  men  boiling  (cheers).  As  yet  they  had 
not  succeeded  in  finding  Stroke's  Lair,  though  they 
knew  it  to  be  in  one  of  the  adjoining  islands,  but 
they  had  suffered  many  privations,  twice  their  gal- 
lant vessel  had  been  burned  to  the  water's  edge, 
once  she  had  been  sunk,  once  blown  into  the  air, 
but  had  that  dismayed  them  $ 

342 


TOMMY   REPENTS 

Here  the  Boatswain  sent  round  a  whisper,  and 
they  all  cried  loyally,  "  Ay,  ay,  sir." 

He  had  now  news  for  them  that  would  warm 
their  hearts  like  grog.  He  had  not  discovered  the 
Lair,  but  he  had  seen  Stroke,  he  had  spoken  to 
him !  Disguised  as  a  boy  he  had  tracked  the  Ja- 
cobite and  found  him  skulking  in  the  house  of  the 
unhappy  Ailie.  After  blustering  for  a  little  Stroke 
had  gone  on  his  knees  and  offered  not  only  to 
cease  persecuting  this  lady  but  to  return  to  France. 
Mr.  Sandys  had  kicked  him  into  a  standing  pos- 
ture and  then  left  him.  But  this  clemency  had 
been  ill  repaid.  Stroke  had  not  returned  to  France. 
He  was  staying  at  the  Quharity  Arms,  a  Thrums 
inn,  where  he  called  himself  McLean.  It  had 
gone  through  the  town  like  wildfire  that  he  had 
written  to  someone  in  Redlintie  to  send  him  on 
another  suit  of  clothes  and  four  dickies.  No  one 
suspected  his  real  character,  but  all  noted  that  he 
went  to  the  unhappy  Ailie's  house  daily,  and  there 
was  a  town  about  it.  Ailie  was  but  a  woman,  and 
women  could  not  defend  themselves  ("  Boatswain, 
put  Grizel  in  irons  if  she  opens  her  mouth  "),  and 
so  the  poor  thing  had  been  forced  to  speak  to  him, 
and  even  to  go  walks  with  him.  Her  life  was  in 
danger,  and  before  now  Mr.  Sandys  would  have 
taken  him  prisoner,  but  the  queen  had  said  these 
words,  "Noble  Sandys,  destroy  the  Lair/'  and  the 
best  way  to  discover  this  horrid  spot  was  to  follow 

343 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Stroke  night  and  day  until  he  went  to  it.  Then 
they  would  burn  it  to  the  ground,  put  him  on 
board  the  Ailie,  up  with  the  jib-boom  sail,  and 
away  to  the  Tower  of  London. 

At  the  words  "  Tower  of  London,"  Ben  cried, 
"  Tumble  up  there ! "  which  was  the  signal  for 
three  such  ringing  cheers  as  only  British  tars  are 
capable  of.  Three  *?  To  be  exact  only  two  and 
a  half,  for  the  third  stopped  in  the  middle,  as  if  the 
lid  had  suddenly  been  put  on. 

What  so  startled  them  was  the  unexpected  ap- 
pearance in  their  midst  of  the  very  man  Tommy 
had  been  talking  of.  Taking  a  stroll  through  the 
Den,  Mr.  McLean  had  been  drawn  toward  the 
ruin  by  the  first  cheers,  and  had  arrived  in  time  to 
learn  who  and  what  he  really  was. 

"  Stroke ! "  gasped  one  small  voice. 

The  presumptuous  man  folded  his  arms.  "  So, 
Sandys,"  he  said,  in  hollow  tones,  "  we  meet 
again ! " 

Even  Grizel  got  behind  Tommy,  and  perhaps 
it  was  this  that  gave  him  spunk  to  say  tremulously, 
"  Wh-what  are  you  doing  here  *?  " 

"  I  have  come,"  replied  the  ruddy  Pretender, 
"  to  defy  you,  ay,  proud  Sandys,  to  challenge  thee 
to  the  deed  thou  pratest  of.  I  go  from  here  to  my 
Lair.  Follow  me,  if  thou  darest ! " 

He  brought  his  hand  down  with  a  bang  upon 
the  barrel,  laughed  disdainfully,  and  springing  over 

344 


TOMMY   REPENTS 

the  vessel's  side  was  at  once  lost  in  the  darkness. 
Instead  of  following,  all  stood  transfixed,  gazing 
at  the  barrel,  on  which  lay  five  shillings. 

"  He  put  them  there  when  he  slammed  it ! " 

"Losh  behears!  there's  a  shilling  to  ilka  ane 
o'  us." 

"  I  winna  touch  the  siller,"  said  Sandys,  moodily. 

"  What?  "  cried  Gavinia. 

"  I  tell  you  it's  a  bribe." 

"  Do  you  hear  him  ?  "  screamed  Gavinia.  **  He 
says  we're  no  to  lay  hands  on't !  Corp,  where's 
your  tongue  *?  " 

But  even  in  that  trying  moment  Corp's  trust  in 
Tommy  shone  out  beautiful  and  strong.  "  Dinna 
be  feared,  Gavinia,"  he  whispered,  "he'll  find 
a  w'y." 

"  Lights  out  and  follow  Stroke ! "  was  the  order, 
and  the  crew  at  once  scattered  in  pursuit,  Mr. 
Sandys  remaining  behind  a  moment  to  —  to  put 
something  in  his  pocket. 

Mr.  McLean  gave  them  a  long  chase,  walking 
demurely  when  lovers  were  in  sight,  but  at  other 
times  doubling,  jumping,  even  standing  on  emi- 
nences and  crowing  insultingly,  like  a  cock,  and  not 
until  he  had  only  breath  left  to  chuckle  did  the 
stout  man  vanish  from  the  Den.  Elspeth,  now  a 
cabin-boy,  was  so  shaken  by  the  realism  of  the 
night's  adventures  that  Gavinia  (able  seaman)  took 
her  home,  p"d  when  Mr.  Sandys  and  his  Boatswain 

345 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

met  at  the  Cuttle  Well  neither  could  tell  where 
Grizel  was. 

"She  had  no  business  to  munt  without  my 
leave,"  Tommy  said  sulkily. 

"  No,  she  hadna.   Is  she  the  Lady  Griselda  yet  ?  " 
"  Not  her,  she's  the  Commander's  wife." 
Ben  shook  his  head,  for  this,  he  felt,  was  the  one 
thing   Tommy   could   not   do.      "  Well,   then," 
growled  Tommy,  "  if  she   winna  be  that,  she'll 
have  to  serve  before  the  mast,  for  I  tell  you  plain 
I'll  have  no  single  women  on  board." 

"  And  what  am  I,  forby  Ben  the  Boatswain  ?  " 
"Nothing.     Honest  men  has  just  one  name." 
"What!     I'm  just  one  single   man?"     Corp 
was  a  little  crestfallen.     "It's  a  come  down,"  he 
said,  with  a  sigh,  "  mind,  I  dinna  grumble,  but 
it's  a  come  down." 

"  And  you  dinna  have  '  Methinks '  now  either," 
Tommy  announced  pitilessly. 

Corp  had  dreaded  this.  "  I'll  be  gey  an'  lonely 
without  it,"  he  said,  with  some  dignity,  "and  it 
was  the  usefulest  swear  I  kent  o'.  'Methinks!' 
I  used  to  roar  at  Mason  Malcolm's  collie,  and  the 
crittur  came  in  ahint  in  a  swite  o'  fear.  Losh, 
Tommy,  is  that  you  blooding?" 

There  was  indeed  an  ugly  gash  on  Tommy's 
hand.  "  You've  been  hacking  at  yourseP  again," 
said  the  distressed  Corp,  who  knew  that  in  his  en- 
thusiasm Tommy  had  more  than  once  drawn  blood 
from  himself.  "  When  you  take  it  a*  so  real  as 


TOMMY   REPENTS 

that,"  he  said  uncomfortably,  "  I  near  think  we 
should  give  it  up." 

Tommy  stamped  his  foot.  "  Take  tent  o'  your- 
seF ! "  he  cried  threateningly.  "  When  I  was 
tracking  Stroke  I  fell  in  with  one  of  his  men,  and 
we  had  a  tussle.  He  pinked  me  in  the  hand,  but 
't  is  only  a  scratch,  bah  !  He  was  carrying  trea- 
sure, and  I  took  it  from  him." 

Ben  whistled.  "Five  shillings?"  he  asked, 
slapping  his  knee. 

"  How  did  you  know  ?  "  demanded  Tommy, 
frowning,  and  then  they  tried  to  stare  each  other 
down. 

"  I  thought  I  saw  you  pouching  it,"  Corp  ven- 
tured to  say. 

"  Boatswain ! " 

"  I  mean,"  explained  Corp  hurriedly,  "  I  mean 
that  I  kent  you  would  find  a  wy.  Didest  thou 
kill  the  Jacobite  rebel?" 

"  He  lies  but  a  few  paces  off,"  replied  Tommy, 
"  and  already  the  vultures  are  picking  his  bones." 

"  So  perish  all  Victoria's  enemies,"  said  Ben  the 
Boatswain,  loyally,  but  a  sudden  fear  made  him 
add,  with  a  complete  change  of  voice,  "  You  dinna 
chance  to  ken  his  name  ?  " 

"Ay,  I  had  marked  him  before,"  answered 
Tommy,  "  he  was  called  Corp  of  Corp." 

Ben  the  Boatswain  rose,  sat  down,  rose  again. 
"Tommy,"  he  said,  wiping  his  brow  with  his 
sleeve,  "  come  awa'  hame ! " 

347 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  LONGER  CATECHISM 

IN  the  meantime  Mr.  McLean  was  walking 
slowly  to  the  Quharity  Arms,  fanning  his  face  with 
his  hat,  and  in  the  West  town  end  he  came  upon 
some  boys  who  had  gathered  with  offensive  cries 
round  a  girl  in  a  lustre  jacket.  A  wave  of  his 
stick  put  them  to  flight,  but  the  girl  only  thanked 
him  with  a  look,  and  entered  a  little  house  the 
window  of  which  showed  a  brighter  light  than  its 
neighbours.  Dr.  McQueen  came  out  of  this  house 
a  moment  afterwards,  and  as  the  two  men  now 
knew  each  other  slightly  they  walked  home  to- 
gether, McLean  relating  humorously  how  he  had 
spent  the  evening.  "  And  though  Commander 
Sandys  means  to  incarcerate  me  in  the  Tower  of 
London,"  he  said,  "  he  did  me  a  good  service  the 
other  day,  and  I  feel  an  interest  in  him." 

"  What  did  the  inventive  sacket  do  *?  "  the  doc- 
tor asked  inquisitively;  but  McLean,  who  had  re- 
ferred to  the  incident  of  the  pass-book,  affected 
not  to  hear.  "  Miss  Ailie  has  told  me  his  history," 
he  said,  "  and  that  he  goes  to  the  University  next 
year." 

348 


THE  LONGER  CATECHISM 

"  Or  to  the  herding,"  put  in  McQueen,  dryly. 

"  Yes,  I  heard  that  was  the  alternative,  but  he 
should  easily  carry  a  bursary;  he  is  a  remarkable 
boy." 

"  Ay,  but  I'm  no  sure  that  it's  the  remarkable 
boys  who  carry  the  bursaries.  However,  if  you 
have  taken  a  fancy  to  him,  you  should  hear  what 
Mr.  Cathro  has  to  say  on  the  subject ;  for  my  own 
part  I  have  been  more  taken  up  with  one  of  his 
band  lately  than  with  himself —  a  lassie,  too." 

"  She  who  went  into  that  house  just  before  you 
came  out  *?  " 

"  The  same,  and  she  is  the  most  puzzling  bit  of 
womankind  I  ever  fell  in  with." 

"  She  looked  an  ordinary  girl  enough,"  said  Mr. 
McLean. 

The  doctor  chuckled.  "  Man,"  he  said,  "  in  my 
time  I  have  met  all  kinds  of  women  except  ordi- 
nary ones.  What  would  you  think  if  I  told  you 
that  this  ordinary  girl  had  been  spending  three  or 
four  hours  daily  in  that  house  entirely  because 
there  was  a  man  dying  in  it  ?  " 

"  Some  one  she  had  an  affection  for  ?  " 

"  My  certie,  no !  I'm  afraid  it  is  long  since  any- 
body had  an  affection  for  shilpit,  hirpling,  old  Bal- 
lingall,  and  as  for  this  lassie  Grizel,  she  had  never 
spoken  to  him  until  I  sent  her  on  an  errand  to  his 
house  a  week  ago.  He  was  a  single  man  (like 
you  and  me),  without  womenfolk,  a  schoolmaster 

349 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

of*  his  own  making,  and  in  the  smallest  way,  and 
his  one  attraction  to  her  was  that  he  was  on  his 
death-bed.  Most  lassies  of  her  age  skirl  to  get 
away  from  the  presence  of  death,  but  she  prigged, 
sir,  fairly  prigged,  to  get  into  it ! " 

"Ah,  I  prefer  less  uncommon  girls,"  McLean 
said.  "They  should  not  have  let  her  have  her 
wish ;  it  can  only  do  her  harm." 

"That  is  another  curious  thing,"  replied  the 
doctor.  "  It  does  not  seem  to  have  done  her  any 
harm ;  rather  it  has  turned  her  from  being  a  dour, 
silent  crittuf  into  a  talkative  one,  and  that,  I  take 
it,  is  a  sign  of  grace." 

He  sighed,  and  added :  "  Not  that  I  can  get  her 
to  talk  of  herself  and  her  mother.  (There  is  a 
mystery  about  them,  you  understand.)  No,  the 
obstinate  brat  will  tell  me  nothing  on  that  subject; 
instead  of  answering  my  questions  she  asks  ques- 
tions of  me — an  endless  rush  of  questions,  and  all 
about  Ballingall.  How  did  I  know  he  was  dying"? 
When  you  put  your  fingers  on  their  wrist,  what  is 
it  you  count?  which  is  the  place  where  the  lungs 
are  ?  when  you  tap  their  chest,  what  do  you  listen 
for  ?  are  they  not  dying  as  long  as  they  can  rise 
now  and  then,  and  dress  and  go  out?  when  they 
are  really  dying,  do  they  always  know  it  them- 
selves ?  If  they  don't  know  it,  is  that  a  sign  that 
they  are  not  so  ill  as  you  think  them?  When 
they  don't  know  they  are  dying,  is  it  best  to  keep 

350 


THE  LONGER  CATECHISM 

It  from  them  in  case  they  should  scream  with  ter- 
ror ?  and  so  on  in  a  spate  of  questions,  till  I  called 
her  the  Longer  Catechism." 

"  And  only  morbid  curiosity  prompted  her  ?  " 

"  Nothing  else,"  said  the  confident  doctor ;  "  if 
there  had  been  anything  else,  I  should  have  found 
it  out,  you  may  be  sure.  However,  unhealthily 
minded  though  she  be,  the  women  who  took  their 
turn  at  Ballingall's  bedside  were  glad  of  her  help." 

"  The  more  shame  to  them,"  McLean  remarked 
warmly;  but  the  doctor  would  let  no  one,  save 
himself,  miscall  the  women  of  Thrums. 

44  Ca'  canny,"  he  retorted.  "  The  women  of  this 
place  are  as  overdriven  as  the  men,  from  the  day 
they  have  the  strength  to  turn  a  pirn-wheel  to  the 
day  they  crawl  over  their  bed-board  for  the  last 
time,  but  never  yet  have  I  said,  '  I  need  one  of  you 
to  sit  up  all  night  wi'  an  unweel  body,'  but  what 
there  were  half  a  dozen  willing  to  do  it.  They  are 
a  grand  race,  sir,  and  will  remain  so  till  they  find 
it  out  themselves." 

44  But  of  what  use  could  a  girl  of  twelve  or 
fourteen  be  to  them  ?  " 

44  Use  ! "  McQueen  cried.  "  Man,  she  has  been 
simply  a  treasure,  and  but  for  one  thing  I  would 
believe  it  was  less  a  morbid  mind  than  a  sort  of 
divine  instinct  for  nursing  that  took  her  to  Bai- 
lingall's  bedside.  The  women  do  their  best  in  a 
rough-and-ready  way;  but,  sir,  it  cowed  to  see  that 

351 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

lassie  easy  ing  a  pillow  for  Ball  ingall's  head,  or  chang- 
ing a  sheet  without  letting  in  the  air,  or  getting  a 
poultice  on  his  back  without  disturbing  the  one 
on  his  chest.  I  had  just  to  let  her  see  how  to  do 
these  things  once,  and  after  that  Ballingall  com- 
plained if  any  other  soul  touched  him." 

"Ah,"  said  McLean,  "then  perhaps  I  was  un- 
charitable, and  the  nurse's  instinct  is  the  true  ex- 
planation." 

"  No,  you're  wrong  again,  though  I  might  have 
been  taken  in  as  well  as  you  but  for  the  one  thing 
I  spoke  of.  Three  days  ago  Ballingall  had  a  ghost 
of  a  chance  of  pulling  through,  I  thought,  and  I 
told  the  lassie  that  if  he  did,  the  credit  would  be 
mainly  hers.  You'll  scarcely  believe  it,  but,  upon 
my  word,  she  looked  disappointed  rather  than 
pleased,  and  she  said  to  me,  quite  reproachfully, 
4  You  told  me  he  was  sure  to  die ! '  What  do  you 
make  of  that  ?  " 

"  It  sounds  unnatural." 

"  It  does,  and  so  does  what  followed.  Do  you 
know  what  straiking  is*?  " 

"  Arraying  the  corpse  for  the  coffin,  laying  it 
out,  in  short,  is  it  not  *?  " 

"  Ay,  ay.  Well,  it  appears  that  Grizel  had 
prigged  with  the  women  to  let  her  be  present  at 
Ballingall's  straiking,  and  they  had  refused." 

"  I  should  think  so,"  exclaimed  McQueen,  with 
a  shudder. 

352 


THE   LONGER   CATECHISM 

"But  that's  not  all.  She  came  to  me  in  her 
difficulty,  and  said  that  if  I  didna  promise  her  this 
privilege,  she  would  nurse  Ballingall  no  more." 

"  Ugh !  That  shows  at  least  that  pity  for  him 
had  not  influenced  her." 

"  No,  she  cared  not  a  doit  for  him.  I  question 
if  she's  the  kind  that  could  care  for  anyone.  It's 
plain  by  her  thrawn  look  when  you  speak  to  her 
about  her  mother  that  she  has  no  affection  even 
for  her.  However,  there  she  was,  prepared  to 
leave  Ballingall  to  his  fate  if  I  did  not  grant  her 
request,  and  I  had  to  yield  to  her." 

"  You  promised  ?  " 

"  I  did,  sore  against  the  grain,  but  I  accept  the 
responsibility.  You  are  pained,  but  you  don't  know 
what  a  good  nurse  means  to  a  doctor." 

"Well?" 

"  Well,  he  died  after  all,  and  the  straiking  is 
going  on  now.  You  saw  her  go  in." 

"  I  think  you  could  have  been  excused  for 
breaking  your  word  and  turning  her  out." 

"  To  tell  the  truth,"  said  the  doctor,  "  I  had  the 
same  idea  when  I  saw  her  enter,  and  I  tried  to 
shoo  her  to  the  door,  but  she  cried, '  You  promised, 
you  can't  break  a  promise ! '  and  the  morbid  brat 
that  she  is  looked  so  horrified  at  the  very  notion 
of  anybody's  breaking  a  promise  that  I  slunk  away 
as  if  she  had  right  on  her  side." 

"No  wonder  the  little  monster  is  unpopular," 

353 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

was  McLean's  comment.  "The  children  here- 
about seem  to  take  to  her  as  little  as  I  do,  for  I 
had  to  drive  away  some  who  were  molesting  her. 
I  am  sorry  I  interfered  now." 

"  I  can  tell  you  why  they  t'nead  her,"  replied 
the  doctor,  and  he  repeated  the  little  that  was 
known  in  Thrums  of  the  Painted  Lady.  "  And, 
you  see,  the  womenfolk  are  mad  because  they  can 
find  out  so  little  about  her,  where  she  got  her 
money,  for  instance,  and  who  are  the  *  gentlemen ' 
that  are  said  to  visit  her  at  Double  Dykes.  They 
have  tried  many  ways  of  drawing  Grizel,  from 
heckle  biscuits  and  parlies  to  a  slap  in  the  face, 
but  neither  by  coaxing  nor  squeezing  will  you  get 
an  egg  out  of  a  sweer  hen,  and  so  they  found. 
'The  dour  little  limmer,'  they  say,  'stalking  about 
wi'  all  her  blinds  down/  and  they  are  slow  to  in- 
terfere when  their  laddies  call  her  names.  It's  a 
pity  for  herself  that  she's  not  more  communicative, 
for  if  she  would  just  satisfy  the  women's  curiosity 
she  would  find  them  full  of  kindness.  A  terrible 
thing,  Mr.  McLean  is  curiosity.  The  Bible  says 
that  the  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil,  but 
we  must  ask  Mr.  Dishart  if  love  of  money  is  not  a 
misprint  for  curiosity.  And  you  won't  find  men 
boring  their  way  into  other  folk's  concerns;  it  is  a 
woman's  failing,  essentially  a  woman's."  This  was 
the  doctor's  pet  topic,  and  he  pursued  it  until  they 
had  to  part.  He  had  opened  his  door  and  was 

354 


THE  LONGER  CATECHISM 

about  to  enter  when  he  saw  Gavinia  passing  on 
her  way  home  from  the  Den. 

"  Come  here,  my  lass,"  he  called  to  her,  and  then 
said  inquisitively,  "  I'm  told  Mr.  McLean  is  at  his 
tea  with  Miss  Ailie  every  day  ?  " 

"And  it's  true,"  replied  Gavinia,  in  huge  de- 
light, "and  what's  more,  she  has  given  him  some 
presents." 

"  You  say  so,  lassie !     What  were  they  now  ?  " 

"  I  dinna  ken,"  Gavinia  had  to  admit,  deject- 
edly. "  She  took  them  out  oj  the  ottoman,  and  it 
has  aye  been  kept  locked." 

McQueen  looked  very  knowingly  at  her.  "Will 
he,  think  you  ?  "  he  asked  mysteriously. 

The  maid  seemed  to  understand,  for  she  replied 
promptly,  "  I  hope  he  will." 

"  But  he  hasna  speired  her  as  yet,  you  think  ?  " 

"No,"  she  said,  "no,  but  he  calls  her  Ailie, 
and  wi'  the  gentry  it's  but  one  loup  frae  that  to 
speiring." 

"  Maybe,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  but  it's  a  loup 
they  often  bogle  at.  I'se  uphaud  he's  close  on 
fifty,  Gavinia  ?  " 

"  There's  no  denying  he  is  by  his  best,"  she 
said  regretfully,  and  then  added,  with  spirit,  "  but 
Miss  Ailie's  no  heavy,  and  in  thae  grite  arms  o' 
his  he  could  daidle  her  as  if  she  were  an  infant." 

This  bewildered  McQueen,  and  he  asked,"  What 
are  you  blethering  about,  Gavinia  ?  "  to  which  she 

355 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

replied,  regally,  "  Wha  carries  me,  wears  me  ?  " 
The  doctor  concluded  that  it  must  be  Den  lan- 
guage. 

"And  I  hope  he's  good  enough  for  her,"  con- 
tinued Miss  Ailie's  warm-hearted  maid,  "  for  she 
deserves  a  good  ane." 

"She  does,"  McQueen  agreed  heartily,  "ay, 
and  I  believe  he  is,  for  he  breathes  through  his 
nose  instead  of  through  his  mouth ;  and  let  me 
tell  you,  Gavinia,  that's  the  one  thing  to  be  sure 
of  in  a  man  before  you  take  him  for  better  or 
worse." 

The  astounded  maid  replied,  "  I'll  ken  bettei 
things  than  that  about  my  lad  afore  I  take  him," 
but  the  doctor  assured  her  that  it  was  the  box 
which  held  them  all,  "  though  you  maun  tell  no 
one,  lassie,  for  it's  my  one  discovery  in  five  and 
thirty  years  of  practice." 

Seeing  that,  despite  his  bantering  tone,  he  was 
speaking  seriously,  she  pressed  him  for  his  mean- 
ing, but  he  only  replied  sadly,  "You're  like  the 
rest,  Gavinia;  I  see  it  breaking  out  on  you  in 
spots." 

"  An  illness ! "  she  cried,  In  alarm. 

"Ay,  lassie,  an  illness  called  curiosity.  I  had 
just  been  telling  Mr.  McLean  that  curiosity  is  es- 
sentially a  woman's  ailment,  and  up  you  come 
ahint  to  prove  it."  He  shook  a  finger  at  her  re- 
provingly, and  was  probably  still  reflecting  on 

356 


THE  LONGER  CATECHISM 

woman's  ways  when  Grizel  walked  home  at  mid- 
night breathing  through  her  nose,  and  Tommy 
fell  asleep  with  his  mouth  open.  For  Tommy 
could  never  have  stood  the  doctor's  test  of  a  man. 
In  the  painting  of  him,  aged  twenty-four,  which 
was  exhibited  in  the  Royal  Academy,  his  lips 
meet  firmly,  but  no  one  knew  save  himself  how 
be  gasped  after  each  sitting-. 


357 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

BUT  IT  SHOULD   HAVE   BEEN   MISS   KITTY 

THE  ottoman  whence,  as  Gavinia  said,  Miss  Ailie 
produced  the  presents  she  gave  to  Mr.  McLean 
stood  near  the  door  of  the  blue-and-white  room, 
with  a  reel  of  thread  between,  to  keep  them  apart 
forever.  Except  on  washing  days  it  was  of  a  gen- 
teel appearance,  for  though  but  a  wooden  kist,  it 
had  a  gay  outer  garment  with  frills,  which  Gavinia 
starched,  and  beneath  this  was  apparel  of  a  pri- 
vate character  that  tied  with  tapes.  When  Miss 
Aiiie,  pins  in  her  mouth,  was  on  her  knees  array- 
ing the  ottoman,  it  might  almost  have  been  mis- 
taken for  a  female  child. 

The  contents  of  the  ottoman  were  a  few  trivial 
articles  sewn  or  knitted  by  Miss  Kitty  during  her 
last  illness,  "just  to  keep  me  out  of  languor,"  she 
would  explain  wistfully  to  her  sister.  She  never 
told  Miss  Ailie  that  they  were  intended  for  any 
special  person ;  on  the  contrary  she  said,  "  Per- 
haps you  may  find  someone  they  will  be  useful 
to,"  but  almost  without  her  knowing  it  they  always 
grew  into  something  that  would  be  useful  to  Ivie 
McLean. 

358 


SHOULD   HAVE  BEEN   MISS   KITTY 

"  The  remarkable  thing  is  that  they  are  an  exact 
fit,"  the  man  said  about  the  slippers,  and  Miss 
Ailie  nodded,  but  she  did  not  think  it  remarkable. 

There  were  also  two  fluffy  little  bags,  and  Miss 
Ailie  had  to  explain  their  use.  "  If  you  put  your 
feet  into  them  in  bed,"  she  faltered,  "they  —  they 
keep  you  warm." 

McLean  turned  hastily  to  something  else,  a 
smoking-cap.  "  I  scarcely  think  this  can  have 
been  meant  for  me,"  he  said ;  "  you  have  forgot- 
ten how  she  used  to  chide  me  for  smoking." 

Miss  Ailie  had  not  forgotten.  "  But  in  a  way," 
she  replied,  flushing  a  little,  "  we  —  that  is,  Kitty 
—  could  not  help  admiring  you  for  smoking. 
There  is  something  so  —  so  dashing  about  it." 

"  I  was  little  worth  all  the  friendship  you  two 
gave  me,  Ailie,"  he  told  her  humbly,  and  he  was 
nearly  saying  something  to  her  then  that  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  to  say.  The  time  came  a  few 
days  later.  They  had  been  walking  together  on 
the  hill,  and  on  their  return  to  the  Dove-cot  he  had 
insisted,  "  in  his  old  imperious  way,"  on  coming 
in  to  tea.  Hearing  talking  in  the  kitchen,  Miss 
Ailie  went  along  the  passage  to  discover  what 
company  her  maid  kept;  but  before  she  reached 
the  door,  which  was  ajar,  she  turned  as  if  she  had 
heard  something  dreadful  and  hurried  upstairs, sign- 
ing to  Mr.  McLean,  with  imploring  eyes,  to  follow 
her.  This  at  once  sent  him  to  the  kitchen  door. 

359 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Gavinia  was  alone.  She  was  standing  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor,  with  one  arm  crooked  as  if 
making  believe  that  another's  arm  rested  on  it,  and 
over  her  head  was  a  little  muslin  window-blind, 
representing  a  bride's  veil.  Thus  she  was  two 
persons,  but  she  was  also  a  third,  who  addressed 
them  in  clerical  tones. 

"Ivie  McLean,"  she  said,  as  solemnly  as  though 
she  were  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dishart,  "  do  you  take  this 
woman  to  be  thy  lawful  wedded  wife*?"  With  al- 
most indecent  haste  she  answered  herself,  "  I  do." 

"Alison  Cray,"  she  said  next,  "  do  you  take  this 
man  to  be  thy  lawful  wedded  husband  *?  "  "I  do." 

Just  then  the  door  shut  softly ;  and  Gavinia  ran 
to  see  who  had  been  listening,  with  the  result  that 
she  hid  herself  in  the  coal-cellar. 

While  she  was  there,  Miss  Ailie  and  Mr. 
McLean  were  sitting  in  the  blue-and-white  room 
very  self-conscious,  and  Miss  Ailie  was  speaking 
confusedly  of  anything  and  everything,  saying  more 
in  five  minutes  than  had  served  for  the  previous 
hour,  and  always  as  she  slackened  she  read  an  in- 
tention in  his  face  that  started  her  tongue  upon 
another  journey.  But,  "  Timid  Ailie,"  he  said  at 
last,  "  do  you  think  you  can  talk  me  down  ? " 
and  then  she  gave  him  a  look  of  reproach  that 
turned  treacherously  into  one  of  appeal,  but  he  had 
the  hardihood  to  continue.:  "  Ailie,  do  you  need  to 
be  told  what  I  want  to  say  ?  " 

360 


SHOULD   HAVE   BEEN   MISS   KITTY 

Miss  Ailie  stood  quite  still  now,  a  stiff,  thick 
figure,  with  a  soft,  plain  face  and  nervous  hands. 
"  Before  you  speak,"  she  said  nervously,  "  I  have 
something  to  tell  you  that  —  perhaps  then  you 
will  not  say  it. 

"  I  have  always  led  you  to  believe,"  she  began, 
trembling,  "  that  I  am  forty-nine.  I  am  fifty-one." 

He  would  have  spoken,  but  the  look  of  appeal 
came  back  to  her  face,  asking  him  to  make  it 
easier  for  her  by  saying  nothing.  She  took  a  pair 
of  spectacles  from  her  pocket,  and  he  divined  what 
this  meant  before  she  spoke.  "  I  have  avoided  letting 
you  see  that  I  need  them,"  she  said.  "  You  —  men 
don't  like  — "  She  tried  to  say  it  all  in  a  rush, 
but  the  words  would  not  come. 

"  I  am  beginning  to  be  a  little  deaf,"  she  went 
on.  "  To  deceive  you  about  that,  I  have  some- 
times answered  you  without  really  knowing  what 
you  said." 

"  Anything  more,  Ailie  *?  " 

"  My  accomplishments  —  they  were  never  great, 
but  Kitty  and  I  thought  my  playing  of  classical 
pieces  —  my  fingers  are  not  sufficiently  pliable 
now.  And  I  —  I  forget  so  many  things." 

"  But,  Ailie  - 

"  Please  let  me  tell  you.  I  was  reading  a  book, 
a  story,  last  winter,  and  one  of  the  characters,  an 
old  maid,  was  held  up  to  ridicule  in  it  for  many 
little  peculiarities  that  —  that  I  recognized  as  my 

361 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

own.  They  had  grown  upon  me  without  my 
knowing  that  they  had  made  me  ridiculous,  and 
now  I  —  I  have  tried,  but  I  cannot  alter  them." 

"  Is  that  all,  Ailie  <?  " 

"  No." 

The  last  seemed  the  hardest  to  say.  Dusk  had 
come  on,  and  they  could  not  see  each  other  well. 
She  asked  him  to  light  the  lamp,  and  his  back 
was  toward  her  while  he  did  it,  wondering  a  little 
at  her  request.  When  he  turned,  her  hands  rose 
like  cowards  to  hide  her  head,  but  she  pulled  them 
down.  "  Do  you  not  see  ?  "  she  said. 

"  I  see  that  you  have  done  something  to  your 
hair,"  he  answered;  "  I  liked  it  best  the  other  way." 

Most  people  would  have  liked  it  best  the  other 
way.  There  was  still  a  good  deal  of  it,  but  the 
"  bun  "  in  which  it  ended  had  gone  strangely  small. 
"  The  rest  was  false,"  said  Miss  Aiiie,  with  a  pain- 
ful effort ;  "  at  least,  it  is  my  own,  but  it  came  out 
when  —  when  Kitty  died." 

She  stopped,  but  he  was  silent.  "  That  is  all 
now,"  she  said  softly,  and  she  waited  for  him  to 
speak  if  he  chose.  He  turned  his  head  away 
sharply,  and  Miss  Ailie  mistook  his  meaning.  If 
she  gave  one  little  sob-  Well,  it  was  but  one, 
and  then  all  the  glory  of  womanhood  came  rushing 
to  her  aid,  and  it  unfurled  its  flag  over  her,  whis- 
pering, "  Now,  sweet  daughter,  now,  strike  for  me," 
and  she  raised  her  head  gallantly,  and  for  a  moment 

362 


SHOULD   HAVE  BEEN   MISS   KITTY 

in  her  life  the  old  school-mistress  was  a  queen.  "  I 
shall  ring  for  tea,"  she  said,  quietly,  and  without 
a  tremor;  "do  you  think  there  is  anything  so  re- 
freshing after  a  walk  as  a  dish  of  tea  ?  " 

She  rang  the  bell,  but  its  tinkle  only  made  Ga- 
vinia  recede  farther  into  the  cellar,  and  that  sum- 
mons has  not  been  answered  to  this  day,  and  no 
one  seems  to  care,  for  while  the  wires  were  still 
vibrating  Mr.  McLean  had  asked  Miss  Ailie  to 
forgive  him  and  marry  him. 

Miss  Ailie  said  she  would,  but, "  Oh,"  she  cried, 
"  ten  years  ago  it  might  have  been  my  Kitty.  I 
would  that  it  had  been  Kitty ! " 

Miss  Ailie  was  dear  to  him  now,  and  ten  years 
is  a  long  time,  and  men  are  vain.  Mr.  McLean 
replied,  quite  honestly,  "  I  am  not  sure  that  I  did 
not  always  like  you  best,"  but  that  hurt  her,  and 
he  had  to  unsay  the  words. 

"  I  was  a  thoughtless  fool  ten  years  ago,"  he  said 
bitterly,  and  Miss  Ailie's  answer  came  strangely 
from  such  timid  lips.  "  Yes,  you  were  ! "  she  ex- 
claimed passionately,  and  all  the  wrath,  long  pent 
up,  with  very  different  feelings,  in  her  gentle 
bosom,  against  the  man  who  should  have  adored 
her  Kitty,  leapt  at  that  reproachful  cry  to  her 
mouth  and  eyes,  and  so  passed  out  of  her  forever. 


363 


CHAPTER   XXIX 

TOMMY  THE   SCHOLAR 

So  Miss  Ailie  could  be  brave,  but  what  a  poltroon 
she  was  also !  Three  calls  did  she  make  on  dear 
friends,  ostensibly  to  ask  how  a  cold  was  or  to  in- 
struct them  in  the  new  device  in  Shetland  wool, 
but  really  to  announce  that  she  did  not  propose 
keeping  school  after  the  end  of  the  term  —  be- 
cause—  in  short,  Mr.  Ivie  McLean  and  she  — 
that  is,  he  —  and  so  on.  But  though  she  had 
planned  it  all  out  so  carefully,  with  at  least  three 
capital  ways  of  leading  up  to  it,  and  knew  pre- 
cisely what  they  would  say,  and  pined  to  hear 
them  say  it,  on  each  occasion  shyness  conquered 
and  she  came  away  with  the  words  unspoken. 
How  she  despised  herself,  and  how  Mr.  McLean 
laughed !  He  wanted  to  take  the  job  off  her  hands 
by  telling  the  news  to  Dr.  McQueen,  who  could 
be  depended  on  to  spread  it  through  the  town,  and 
Miss  Ailie  discovered  with  horror  that  his  simple 
plan  was  to  say,  "How  are  you,  Doctor^  I  just 
looked  in  to  tell  you  that  Miss  Ailie  and  I  are  to 
be  married.  Good  afternoon."  The  audacity  of 

364 


TOMMY    THE   SCHOLAR 

this  captivated  Miss  Ailie  even  while  it  outraged 
her  sense  of  decency.  To  Redlintie  went  Mr. 
McLean,  and  returning  next  day,  drew  from  his 
pocket  something  which  he  put  on  Miss  Ailie's 
finger,  and  then  she  had  the  idea  of  taking  off  her 
left  glove  in  church,  which  would  have  announced 
her  engagement  as  loudly  as  though  Mr.  Dishart 
had  included  it  in  his  pulpit  intimations.  Reli- 
gion, however,  stopped  her  when  she  had  got  the 
little  finger  out,  and  the  Misses  Finlayson,  who 
sat  behind  and  knew  she  had  an  itchy  something 
inside  her  glove,  concluded  that  it  was  her  three- 
penny for  the  plate.  As  for  Gavinia,  like  others 
of  her  class  in  those  days,  she  had  never  heard  of 
engagement  rings,  and  so  it  really  seemed  as  if 
Mr.  McLean  must  call  on  the  doctor  after  all. 
But  "  No,"  said  he,  "  I  hit  upon  a  better  notion 
to-day  in  the  Den,"  and  to  explain  this  notion 
he  produced  from  his  pocket  a  large,  vulgar 
bottle,  which  shocked  Miss  Ailie,  and  indeed 
that  bottle  had  not  passed  through  the  streets 
uncommented  on. 

Mr.  McLean  having  observed  this  bottle  afloat 
on  the  Silent  Pool,  had  fished  it  out  with  his  stick, 
and  its  contents  set  him  chuckling.  They  con- 
sisted of  a  sheet  of  paper  which  stated  that  the 
bottle  was  being  flung  into  the  sea  in  lat.  20,  long. 
40,  by  T.  Sandys,  Commander  of  the  Ailie,  then 
among  the  breakers.  Sandys  had  little  hope  of 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

weathering  the  gale,  but  he  was  indifferent  to  his 
own  fate  so  long  as  his  enemy  did  not  escape,  and 
he  called  upon  whatsoever  loyal  subjects  of  the 
queen  should  find  this  document  to  sail  at  once 
to  lat.  20,  long.  40,  and  there  cruise  till  they  had 
captured  the  Pretender,  alias  Stroke,  and  destroyed 
his  Lair.  A  somewhat  unfavourable  personal  de- 
scription of  Stroke  was  appended,  with  a  map  of 
the  coast,  and  a  stern  warning  to  all  loyal  subjects 
not  to  delay,  as  one  Ailie  was  in  the  villain's  hands, 
and  he  might  kill  her  any  day.  Victoria  Regina 
would  give  five  hundred  crowns  for  his  head. 
The  letter  ended  in  manly  style  with  the  writer's 
sending  an  affecting  farewell  message  to  his  wife 
and  little  children. 

"  And  so  while  we  are  playing  ourselves,"  said 
Mr.  McLean  to  Miss  Ailie,  "your  favourite  is 
seeking  my  blood." 

"  Our  favourite,"  interposed  the  school-mistress, 
and  he  accepted  the  correction,  for  neither  of  them 
could  forget  that  their  present  relations  might  have 
been  very  different  had  it  not  been  for  Tommy's 
faith  in  the  pass-book.  The  boy  had  shown  a 
knowledge  of  the  human  heart,  in  Miss  Ailie's 
opinion,  that  was  simply  wonderful;  inspiration 
she  called  it,  and  though  Ivie  thought  it  a  happy 
accident,  he  did  not  call  it  so  to  her.  Tommy's 
father  had  been  the  instrument  in  bringing  these 
two  together  originally,  and  now  Tommy  had 


TOMMY    THE   SCHOLAR 

brought  them  together  again ;  there  was  fate  in  it, 
and  if  the  boy  was  of  the  right  stuff  McLean 
meant  to  reward  htm. 

"  I  see  now,"  he  said  to  Miss  Ailie,  "  a  way  of 
getting  rid  of  our  fearsome  secret  and  making 
my  peace  with  Sandys  at  one  fell  blow."  He  de- 
clined to  tell  her  more,  but  presently  he  sought 
Gavinia,  who  dreaded  him  nowadays  because  of 
his  disconcerting  way  of  looking  at  her  inquiringly 
and  saying  "I  do ! " 

"  You  don't  happen  to  know,  Gavinia,"  he 
asked,  "whether  the  good  ship  Ailie  weathered 
the  gale  of  the  15th  instant?  If  it  did,"  he  went 
on,  "  Commander  Sandys  will  learn  something  to 
his  advantage  from  a  bottle  that  is  to  be  cast  into 
the  ocean  this  evening." 

Gavinia  thought  she  heard  the  chink  of  another 
five  shillings,  and  her  mouth  opened  so  wide  that 
a  chaffinch  could  have  built  therein.  "  Is  he  to 
look  for  a  bottle  in  the  pond  *?  "  she  asked  eagerly. 

"  I  do,"  replied  McLean  with  such  solemnity 
that  she  again  retired  to  the  coal-cellar. 

That  evening  Mr.  McLean  cast  a  bottle  into  the 
Silent  Pool,  and  subsequently  called  on  Mr.  Cathro, 
to  whom  he  introduced  himself  as  one  interested 
in  Master  Thomas  Sandys.  He  was  heartily  re- 
ceived, but  at  the  name  of  Tommy,  Cathro  heaved 
a  sigh  that  could  not  pass  unnoticed.  "  I  see  you 
don't  find  him  an  angel,"  said  Mr.  McLean, politely. 

367 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

"  'Deed,  sir,  there  are  times  when  I  wish  he  was 
an  angel,"  the  dominie  replied  so  viciously  that 
McLean  laughed.  "And  I  grudge  you  that  laugh," 
continued  Cathro,  "  for  your  Tommy  Sandys  has 
taken  from  me  the  most  precious  possession  a 
teacher  can  have  —  my  sense  of  humour." 

"  He  strikes  me  as  having  a  considerable  sense 
of  humour  himself." 

"  Well,  he  may,  Mr.  McLean,  for  he  has  gone 
off  with  all  mine.  But  bide  a  wee  till  I  get  in  the 
tumblers,  and  I'll  tell  you  the  latest  about  him — • 
if  what  you  want  to  hear  is  just  the  plain  exasper- 
ating truth. 

"  His  humour  that  you  spoke  of,"  resumed  the 
schoolmaster  presently,  addressing  his  words  to  the 
visitor,  and  his  mind  to  a  toddy-ladle  of  horn,  "  is 
ill  to  endure  in  a  school  where  the  understanding 
is  that  the  dominie  makes  all  the  jokes  (except 
on  examination  day,  when  the  ministers  get  their 
yearly  fling),  but  I  think  I  like  your  young  friend 
worst  when  he  is  deadly  serious.  He  is  constantly 
playing  some  new  part  —  playing  is  hardly  the 
word  though,  for  into  each  part  he  puts  an  earnest- 
ness that  cheats  even  himself,  until  he  takes  to 
another.  I  suppose  you  want  me  to  give  you 
some  idea  of  his  character,  and  I  could  tell  you 
what  it  is  at  any  particular  moment ;  but  it  changes, 
sir,  I  do  assure  you,  almost  as  quickly  as  the  circus- 
rider  flings  off  his  layers  of  waistcoats.  A  single 


TOMMY    THE   SCHOLAR 

puff  of  wind  blows  him  from  one  character  to 
another,  and  he  may  be  noble  and  vicious,  and  a 
tyrant  and  a  slave,  and  hard  as  granite  and  melt- 
ing as  butter  in  the  sun,  all  in  one  forenoon.  All 
you  can  be  sure  of  is  that  whatever  he  is,  he  will 
be  it  in  excess." 

"  But  I  understood,"  said  McLean,  "  that  at  pres- 
ent he  is  solely  engaged  on  a  war  of  extermina- 
tion in  the  Den." 

"Ah,  those  exploits,  I  fancy,  are  confined  to 
Saturday  nights,  and  unfortunately  his  Saturday 
debauch  does  not  keep  him  sober  for  the  rest  of 
the  week,  which  we  demand  of  respectable  char- 
acters in  these  parts.  For  the  last  day  or  two,  for 
instance,  he  has  been  in  mourning." 

"  I  had  not  heard  of  that." 

"  No,  I  daresay  not,  and  I'll  give  you  the  facts, 
if  you'll  fill  your  glass  first.  But  perhaps — "  here 
the  dominie's  eyes  twinkled  as  if  a  gleam  of  hu- 
mour had  been  left  him  after  all  —  "  perhaps  you 
have  been  more  used  of  late  to  ginger  wine  ?  " 

The  visitor  received  the  shot  impassively,  as  if 
he  did  not  know  he  had  been  hit,  and  Cathro  pro- 
ceeded with  his  narrative.  "  Well,  for  a  day  or 
two  Tommy  Sandys  has  been  coming  to  the  school 
in  a  black  jacket  with  crape  on  the  cuffs,  and  not 
only  so,  he  has  sat  quiet  and  forlorn-like  at  his 
desk,  as  if  he  had  lost  some  near  and  dear  relative. 
Now  I  knew  that  he  had  not,  for  his  only  relative 

369 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

is  a  sister  whom  you  may  have  seen  at  the  Hanky 
School,  and  both  she  and  Aaron  Latta  are  hearty, 
Yet,  sir  (and  this  shows  the  effect  he  has  on  me), 
though  I  was  puzzled  and  curious,  I  dared  not 
ask  for  an  explanation." 

"  But  why  not  ?  "  was  the  visitor's  natural  ques- 
tion. 

"Because,  sir,  he  is  such  a  mysterious  little 
sacket,"  replied  Cathro,  testily,  "  and  so  clever  af 
leading  you  into  a  hole,  that  it's  not  chancey  to 
meddle  with  him,  and  I  could  see  through  the 
corner  of  my  eye  that,  for  all  this  woeful  face,  he 
was  proud  of  it,  and  hoped  I  was  taking  note. 
For  though  sometimes  his  emotion  masters  him 
completely,  at  other  times  he  can  step  aside,  as  it 
were,  and  take  an  approving  look  at  it.  That  is 
a  characteristic  of  him,  and  not  the  least  madden- 
ing one." 

"But  you  solved  the  mystery  somehow,  I  sup- 
pose <?  " 

"  I  got  at  the  truth  to-day  by  an  accident,  or 
rather  my  wife  discovered  it  for  me.  She  happened 
to  call  in  at  the  school  on  a  domestic  matter  I  need 
not  trouble  you  with  (sal,  she  needna  have  troubled 
me  with  it  either !),  and  on  her  way  up  the  yard  she 
noticed  a  laddie  called  Lewis  Doig  playing  with 
other  ungodly  youths  at  the  game  of  kickbonnety. 
Lewis's  father,  a  gentleman  farmer,  was  buried 
.limply  a  fortnight  since,  and  such  want  of  respect 

370 


TOMMY   THE   SCHOLAR 

for  his  memory  made  my  wife  give  the  loon  a 
dunt  on  the  head  with  a  pound  of  sugar,  which 
she  had  just  bought  at  the  'Sosh.  He  turned  on 
her,  ready  to  scart  or  spit  or  run,  as  seemed  wisest, 
and  in  a  klink  her  woman's  eye  saw  what  mine  had 
overlooked,  that  he  was  not  even  wearing  a  black 
jacket.  Well,  she  told  him  what  the  slap  was  for, 
and  his  little  countenance  cleared  at  once.  *  Oh,' 
says  he,  '  that's  all  right,  Tommy  and  me  has  ar- 
ranged it,'  and  he  pointed  blithely  to  a  corner  of 
the  yard  where  Tommy  was  hunkering  by  himself 
in  Lewis's  jacket,  and  wiping  his  mournful  eyes 
with  Lewis's  hanky.  I  daresay  you  can  jalouse 
the  rest,  but  I  kept  Lewis  behind  after  the  school 
skailed,  and  got  a  full  confession  out  of  him.  He 
had  tried  hard,  he  gave  me  to  understand,  to  mourn 
fittingly  for  his  father,  but  the  kickbonnety  season 
being  on,  it  was  up-hill  work,  and  he  was  relieved 
when  Tommy  volunteered  to  take  it  off  his  hands. 
Tommy's  offer  was  to  swop  jackets  every  morning 
for  a  week  or  two,  and  thus  properly  attired  to  do 
the  mourning  for  him." 

The  dominie  paused,  and  regarded  his  guest 
quizzically.  "  Sir/'  he  said  at  length,  "  laddies  are 
a  queer  growth;  I  assure  you,  there  was  no  per- 
suading Lewis  that  it  was  not  a  right  and  honour- 
able compact." 

"  And  what  payment,"  asked  McLean,  laughing, 
"did  Tommy  demand  from  Lewis  for  this  service?  " 

37* 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"Not  a  farthing,  sir  —  which  gives  another  un« 
canny  glint  into  his  character.  When  he  wants 
money,  there's  none  so  crafty  at  getting  it,  but  he 
did  this  for  the  pleasure  of  the  thing,  or,  as  he  said 
to  Lewis, '  to  feel  what  it  would  be  like.'  That,  I 
tell  you,  is  the  nature  of  the  sacket;  he  has  a  devour- 
ing desire  to  try  on  other  folk's  feelings,  as  if  they 
were  so  many  suits  of  clothes." 

"  And  from  your  account  he  makes  them  fit  him 
too." 

"  My  certie,  he  does,  and  a  lippie  in  the  bonnet 
more  than  that." 

So  far  the  schoolmaster  had  spoken  frankly,  even 
with  an  occasional  grin  at  his  own  expense,  but  his 
words  came  reluctantly  when  he  had  to  speak  of 
Tommy's  prospects  at  the  bursary  examinations. 
"I  would  rather  say  nothing  on  that  head,"  he 
said,  almost  coaxingly,  "  for  the  laddie  has  a  year 
to  reform  in  yet,  and  it's  never  safe  to  prophesy." 

"Still  I  should  have  thought  that  you  could 
guess  pretty  accurately  how  the  boys  you  mean  to 
send  up  in  a  year's  time  are  likely  to  do?  You 
have  had  a  long  experience,  and,  I  am  told,  a  glo- 
rious one." 

"'Deed,  there's  no  denying  it,"  answered  the  donv 
inie,  with  a  pride  he  had  won  the  right  to  wear 
"  If  all  the  ministers,  for  instance,  I  have  turned  out 
in  this  bit  school  were  to  come  back  together,  they 
could  hold  the  General  Assembly  in  the  square  " 

372 


TOMMY   THE   SCHOLAR 

He  lay  back  in  his  big  chair,  a  complacent  dom- 
inie again.  "Guess  the  chances  of  my  laddies!" 
he  cried,  forgetting  what  he  had  just  said,  and  tha* 
there  was  a  Tommy  to  bother  him.  "  I  tell  you, 
sir,  that's  a  matter  on  which  I'm  never  deceived.  I 
can  tell  the  results  so  accurately  that  a  wise  Sena- 
tus  would  give  my  lot  the  bursaries  I  say  they'll 
carry,  without  setting  them  down  to  examination- 
papers  at  all."  And  for  the  next  half-hour  he  was 
reciting  cases  in  proof  of  his  sagacity. 

"  Wonderful ! "  chimed  in  McLean.  "  I  see  tt 
is  evident  you  can  tell  me  how  Tommy  Sandys 
will  do ; "  but  at  that  Cathro's  rush  of  words  again 
subsided  into  a  dribble. 

"  He's  the  worst  Latinist  that  ever  had  the  im- 
pudence to  think  of  bursaries,"  he  groaned. 

"  And  his  Greek  ?  "  asked  McLean,  helping  on 
the  conversation  as  far  as  possible. 

"  His  Greek,  sir,  could  be  packed  in  a  pill-box." 

"  That  does  not  sound  promising.  But  the  best 
mathematicians  are  sometimes  the  worst  linguists." 

"  His  Greek  is  better  than  his  mathematics," 
said  Cathro,  and  he  fell  into  lamentation.  "  I  have 
had  no  luck  lately,"  he  sighed.  "  The  laddies  I 
have  to  prepare  for  college  are  second-raters,  and 
the  vexing  thing  is,  that  when  a  real  scholar  is 
reared  in  Thrums,  instead  of  his  being  handed  over 
to  me  for  the  finishing,  they  send  him  to  Mr.  Ogilvy 
in  Glenquharity.  Did  Miss  Ailie  ever  mention 

373 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

Gavin  Dishart  to  you  — the  minister's  son?  \ 
just  craved  to  get  the  teaching  of  that  laddie;  he 
was  the  kind  you  can  cram  with  learning  till  there's 
no  room  left  for  another  spoonful,  and  they  bude 
send  him  to  Mr.  Ogilvy,  and  you'll  see  he'll  stand 
high  above  my  loons  in  the  bursary  list.  And 
then  Ogilvy  will  put  on  sic  airs  that  there  will  be  no 
enduring  him.  Ogilvy  and  I,  sir,  we  are  engaged 
in  an  everlasting  duel ;  when  we  send  students  to 
the  examinations,  it  is  we  two  who  are  the  real 
competitors.  But  what  chance  have  I,  when  he  is 
represented  by  a  Gavin  Dishart  and  my  man  is 
Tommy  Sandys  ?  " 

McLean  was  greatly  disappointed.  "  Why  send 
Tommy  up  at  all  if  he  is  so  backward  ?  "  he  said. 
"  You  are  sure  you  have  not  exaggerated  his  defi- 
ciencies*? " 

"  Well,  not  much,  at  any  rate.  But  he  baffles 
me ;  one  day  I  think  him  a  perfect  numskull,  and 
the  next  he  makes  such  a  show  of  the  small  drop 
of  scholarship  he  has  that  I'm  not  sure  but  what 
he  may  be  a  genius." 

"  That  sounds  better.     Does  he  study  hard  ?  " 

"Study!  He  is  the  most  careless  whelp  that 
ever " 

"  But  if  I  were  to  give  him  an  inducement  to 
study?" 

"  Such  as  ?  "  asked  Cathro,  who  could  at  times 
be  as  inquisitive  as  the  doctor. 

374 


TOMMY   THE  SCHOLAR 

"We  need  not  go  into  that.  But  suppose  it 
appealed  to  him*?" 

Cathro  considered.  "To  be  candid,"  he  said, 
"  I  don't  think  he  could  study,  in  the  big  meaning 
of  the  word.  I  daresay  I'm  wrong,  but  I  have  a 
feeling  that  whatever  knowledge  that  boy  acquires 
he  will  dig  out  of  himself.  There  is  something 
inside  him,  or  so  I  think  at  times,  that  is  his  mas- 
ter, and  rebels  against  book-learning.  No,  I  can't 
tell  what  it  is ;  when  we  know  that,  we  shall  know 
the  real  Tommy." 

"And  yet,"  said  McLean,  curiously,  "you  ad- 
vise his  being  allowed  to  compete  for  a  bursary. 
That,  if  you  will  excuse  my  saying  so,  sounds 
foolish  to  me." 

"  It  can't  seem  so  foolish  to  you,"  replied  Cathro, 
scratching  his  head,  "  as  it  seems  to  me  six  days  in 
seven." 

"  And  you  know  that  Aaron  Latta  has  sworn  to 
send  him  to  the  herding  if  he  does  not  carry  a 
bursary.  Surely  the  wisest  course  would  be  to  ap- 
prentice him  now  to  some  trade " 

"  What  trade  would  not  be  the  worse  of  him  *? 
He  would  cut  off  his  fingers  with  a  joiner's  saw, 
and  smash  them  with  a  mason's  mell;  put  him  in 
a  brot  behind  a  counter,  and  in  some  grand,  mag- 
nanimous mood  he  would  sell  off  his  master's 
things  for  nothing;  make  a  clerk  of  him,  and  he 
would  only  ravel  the  figures ;  send  him  to  the  sol- 

37? 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

diering,  and  he  would  have  a  sudden  impulse  w£> 
fight  on  the  wrong  side.  No,  no,  Miss  Ailie  says 
he  has  a  gift  for  the  ministry,  and  we  must  cling 
to  that." 

In  thus  sheltering  himself  behind  Miss  Ailie, 
where  he  had  never  skulked  before,  the  dominie 
showed  how  weak  he  thought  his  position,  and  he 
added,  with  a  brazen  laugh,  "  Then  if  he  does  dis- 
tinguish himself  at  the  examinations  I  can  take 
the  credit  for  it,  and  if  he  comes  back  in  disgrace 
I  shall  call  you  to  witness  that  I  only  sent  him  to 
them  at  her  instigation." 

"  All  which,"  maintained  McLean,  as  he  put  on 
his  topcoat,  "means  that  somehow,  against  your 
better  judgment,  you  think  he  may  distinguish 
himself  after  all." 

"  You've  found  me  out,"  answered  Cathro,  half 
relieved,  half  sorry.  "  I  had  no  intention  of  telling 
you  so  much,  but  as  you  have  found  me  out  I'll 
make  a  clean  breast  of  it.  Unless  something  un- 
expected happens  to  the  laddie  —  unless  he  take 
to  playing  at  scholarship  as  if  it  were  a  Jacobite 
rebellion,  for  instance  —  he  shouldna  have  the  ghost 
of  a  chance  of  a  bursary;  and  if  he  were  any  other 
boy  as  ill-prepared  I  should  be  ashamed  to  send 
him  up,  but  he  is  Tommy  Sandys,  you  see,  and — 
it  is  a  terrible  thing  to  say,  but  it's  Gospel  truth, 
it's  Gospel  truth  —  I'm  trusting  to  the  possibility 
of  his  diddling  the  examiners!" 

376 


TOMMY   THE  SCHOLAR 

It  was  a  startling  confession  for  a  conscientious 
dominie,  and  Cathro  flung  out  his  hands  as  if  to 
withdraw  the  words,  but  his  visitor  would  have  no 
tampering  with  them.  "  So  that  sums  up  Tommy, 
so  far  as  you  know  him,"  he  said,  as  he  bade  his 
host  good-night. 

"  It  does,"  Cathro  admitted  grimly,  "  but  if  what 
you  wanted  was  a  written  certificate  of  character  I 
should  like  to  add  this,  that  never  did  any  boy  sit  on 
my  forms  whom  I  had  such  a  pleasure  in  thrashing," 


377 


CHAPTER  XXX 

END  OF  THE  JACOBITE  RISING 

IN  the  small  hours  of  the  following  night  the  pulse 
of  Thrums  stopped  for  a  moment,  and  then  went 
on  again,  but  the  only  watcher  remained  silent,  and 
the  people  rose  in  the  morning  without  knowing 
that  they  had  lost  one  of  their  number  while  they 
slept.  In  the  same  ignorance  they  toiled  through 
a  long  day. 

It  was  a  close  October  day  in  the  end  of  a  sum- 
mer that  had  lingered  to  give  the  countryside 
nothing  better  than  a  second  crop  of  haws.  Be- 
neath the  beeches  leaves  lay  in  yellow  heaps  like 
sliced  turnip,  and  over  all  the  strath  was  a  pink 
haze ;  the  fields  were  singed  brown,  except  where 
a  recent  ploughing  gave  them  a  mourning  bor- 
der. From  early  morn  men,  women  and  children 
(Tommy  among  them)  were  in  the  fields  taking 
up  their  potatoes,  half-a-dozen  gatherers  at  first  to 
every  drill,  and  by  noon  it  seemed  a  dozen,  though 
the  new-comers  were  but  stout  sacks,  now  able  to 
stand  alone.  By-and-by  heavy-laden  carts  were 
trailing  into  Thrums,  dog-tired  toilers  hanging  on 


END   OF   THE  JACOBITE  RISING 

behind,  not  to  be  dragged,  but  for  an  incentive  to 
keep  them  trudging,  boys  and  girls  falling  asleep 
on  top  of  the  load,  and  so  neglecting  to  enjoy  the 
ride  which  was  their  recompense  for  lifting.  A 
growing  mist  mixed  with  the  daylight,  and  still 
there  were  a  few  people  out,  falling  over  their 
feet  with  fatigue;  it  took  silent  possession,  and 
then  the  shadowy  forms  left  in  the  fields  were  mo- 
tionless and  would  remain  there  until  carted  to 
garrets  and  kitchen  corners  and  other  winter  quar- 
ters on  Monday  morning.  There  were  few  gad- 
abouts that  Saturday  night.  Washings  were  not 
brought  in,  though  Mr.  Dishart  had  preached 
against  the  unseemly  sight  of  linen  hanging  on  the 
line  on  the  Sabbath-day.  Innes,  stravaiging  the 
square  and  wynds  in  his  apple-cart,  jingled  his 
weights  in  vain,  unable  to  shake  even  moneyed 
children  off  their  stools;  and  when  at  last  he  told 
his  beast  to  go  home,  they  took  with  them  all  the 
stir  of  the  town.  Family  exercise  came  on  early 
in  many  houses,  and  as  the  gude  wife  handed  her 
man  the  Bible  she  said  entreatingly,  "A  short  ane." 
After  that  one  might  have  said  that  no  earthly 
knock  could  bring  them  to  their  doors,  yet  within 
an  hour  the  town  was  in  a  ferment. 

When  Tommy  and  Elspeth  reached  the  Den 
the  mist  lay  so  thick  that  they  had  to  feel  their 
way  through  it  to  the  Ailie,  where  they  found  Ga 
vinia  alone  and  scared.     "  Was  you  peeping  in, 

379 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

trying  to  fleg  me  twa  three  minutes  syne  ?  "  she 
asked  eagerly,  and  when  they  shook  their  heads, 
she  looked  cold  with  fear.  "As  sure  as  death," 
she  said,  "there  was  some  living  thing  standing 
there ;  I  couldna  see  it  for  the  rime,  but  I  heard 
it  breathing  hard." 

Tommy  felt  Elspeth's  hand  begin  to  tremble, 
and  he  said  "  McLean ! "  hastily,  though  he  knew 
that  McLean  had  not  yet  left  the  Quharity  Arms. 
Next  moment  Corp  arrived  with  another  story  as 
unnerving. 

"  Has  Grizel  no  come  yet  ? "  he  asked,  in 
a  troubled  voice.  "Tommy,  hearken  to  this,  a 
light  has  been  burning  in  Double  Dykes  and  the 
door  swinging  open  a'  day !  I  saw  it  mysel',  and 
so  did  Willum  Dods." 

"  Did  you  go  close  ?  " 

"Na  faags!  Willum  was  hol'ing  and  I  was 
lifting,  so  we  hadna  time  in  the  daylight,  and  wha 
would  venture  near  the  Painted  Lady's  house  on 
sic  a  night  ?  " 

Even  Tommy  felt  uneasy,  but  when  Gavinia 
cried,  "There's  something  uncanny  in  being  out 
the  night;  tell  us  what  was  in  Mr.  McLean's  bot- 
tle, Tommy,  and  syne  we'll  run  hame,"  he  became 
Commander  Sandys  again,  and  replied  blankly, 
"  What  bottle  ?  " 

"  The  ane  I  warned  you  he  was  to  fling  into  the 
water ;  dinna  dare  tell  me  you  hinna  got  it." 


END   OF   THE  JACOBITE   RISING 

"I  know  not  what  thou  art  speaking  about," 
said  Tommy ;  "  but  it's  a  queer  thing,  it's  a  queer 
thing,  Gavinia" — here  he  fixed  her  with  his  terri- 
fying eye — "that  I  happen  to  have  found  a — 
another  bottle,"  and  still  glaring  at  her  he  ex- 
plained that  he  had  found  this  bottle  floating  on 
the  horizon.  It  contained  a  letter  to  him,  which 
he  now  read  aloud.  It  was  signed  "  The  Villain 
Stroke,  his  mark,'*  and  announced  that  the  writer, 
"  tired  of  this  relentless  persecution,"  had  deter- 
mined to  reform  rather  than  be  killed.  "  Meet  me 
at  the  Cuttle  Well,  on  Saturday,  when  the  eight- 
o'clock  bell  is  ringing,"  he  wrote,  "and  I  shall 
there  make  you  an  offer  for  my  freedom." 

The  crew  received  this  communication  with 
shouts,  Gavinia's  cry  of  "Five  shillings,  if  no  ten!" 
expressing  the  general  sentiment,  but  it  would  not 
have  been  like  Tommy  to  think  with  them.  "You 
poor  things,"  he  said,  "  you  just  believe  everything 
you're  telled !  How  do  I  know  that  this  is  not 
a  trick  of  Stroke's  to  bring  me  here  when  he  is 
some  other  gait  working  mischief?  " 

Corp  was  impressed,  but  Gavinia  said  short- 
sightedly, "  There's  no  sign  o't." 

"  There's  ower  much  sign  o't,"  retorted  Tommy. 
"What's  this  story  about  Double  Dykes?  And 
how  do  we  ken  that  there  hasna  been  foul  wark 
there,  and  this  man  at  the  bottom  o't?  I  tell 
you,  before  the  world's  half  an  hour  older  I'll  find 

381 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

out,"  and  he  looked  significantly  at  Corp,  who 
answered,  quaking,  "  I  winna  gang  by  mysel',  no, 
Tommy,  I  winna!" 

So  Tommy  had  to  accompany  him,  saying 
valiantly,  "  I'm  no  feared,  and  this  rime  is  fine  for 
hodding  in,"  to  which  Corp  replied  as  firmly, 
•*  Neither  am  I,  and  we  can  aye  keep  touching  cauld 
iron."  Before  they  were  half-way  down  the  Dou- 
ble Dykes  they  got  a  thrill,  for  they  realised  si- 
multaneously that  they  were  being  followed.  They 
stopped  and  gripped  each  other  hard,  but  now 
they  could  hear  nothing. 

"  The  Painted  Lady ! "  Corp  whispered. 

"  Stroke  ! "  Tommy  replied  as  cautiously.  He 
was  excited  rather  than  afraid,  and  had  the  pluck 
to  cry,  "  Wha's  that  *?  I  see  you ! "  but  no  an- 
swer came  back  through  the  mist,  and  now  the 
boys  had  a  double  reason  for  pressing  forward. 

"  Can  you  see  the  house,  Corp  ?  " 

"  It  should  be  here  about,  but  it's  smored  in 


rime." 


"  I'm  touching  the  paling.  I  ken  the  road  to 
the  window  now." 

"Hark!     What's  that?" 

It  sounded  like  devil's  music  in  front  of  them, 
and  they  fell  back  until  Corp  remembered,  "  It 
maun  be  the  door  swinging  open,  and  squealing 
and  moaning  on  its  hinges.  Tommy,  I  take  ill 
wi'  that.  What  can  it  mean  ?  " 

382 


END   OF   THE  JACOBITE  RISING 

"  I'm  here  to  find  out."  They  reached  the  win- 
dow  where  Tommy  had  watched  once  before,  and 
looking  in  together  saw  the  room  plainly  by  the 
light  of  a  lamp  which  stood  on  the  spinet.  There 
was  no  one  inside,  but  otherwise  Tommy  noticed 
little  change.  The  fire  was  out,  having  evidently 
burned  itself  done,  the  bedclothes  were  in  some 
disorder.  To  avoid  the  creaking  door,  the  boys 
passed  round  the  back  of  the  house  to  the  window 
of  the  other  room.  This  room  was  without  -a 
light,  but  its  door  stood  open,  and  sufficient  light 
came  from  the  kitchen  to  show  that  it  also  was 
untenanted.  It  seemed  to  have  been  used  as  a 
lumber-room. 

The  boys  turned  to  go,  passing  near  the  front  of 
the  empty  house,  where  they  shivered  and  stopped, 
mastered  by  a  feeling  they  could  not  have  ex- 
plained. The  helpless  door,  like  the  staring  eyes 
of  a  dead  person,  seemed  to  be  calling  to  them  to 
shut  it,  and  Tommy  was  about  to  steal  forward 
for  this  purpose  when  Corp  gripped  him  and  whis- 
pered that  the  light  had  gone  out.  It  was  true, 
though  Tommy  disbelieved  until  they  had  re- 
turned to  the  east  window  to  make  sure. 

"  There  maun  be  folk  in  the  hoose,  Tommy ! " 

*'  You  saw  it  was  toom.  The  lamp  had  gone 
out  itself,  or  else  — what's  that?" 

It  was  the  unmistakable  closing  of  a  door,  softly 
but  firmly,  "The  wind  has  blown  it  to/'  they 

383 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

tried  to  persuade  themselves,  though  aware  that 
there  was  not  sufficient  wind  for  this.  After  a  long 
period  of  stillness  they  gathered  courage  to  go  to  the 
door  and  shake  it.  It  was  not  only  shut,  but  locked. 

On  their  way  back  through  the  Double  Dykes 
they  were  silent,  listening  painfully,  but  hearing 
nothing.  But  when  they  reached  the  Coffin  Brig, 
Tommy  said,  "Dinna  say  nothing  about  this  to 
Elspeth,  it  would  terrify  her;"  he  was  always  so 
thoughtful  for  Elspeth. 

"  But  what  do  you  think  o't  a'  ?  "  Corp  said,  im- 
ploringly. 

"  I  winna  tell  you  yet,"  replied  Tommy,  cau- 
tiously. 

When  they  boarded  the  Ailie,  where  the  two 
girls  were  very  glad  to  -see  them  again,  the  eight- 
o'clock  bell  had  begun  to  ring,  and  thus  Tommy 
had  a  reasonable  excuse  for  hurrying  his  crew  to 
the  Cuttle  Well  without  saying  anything  of  his 
expedition  to  Double  Dykes,  save  that  he  had  not 
seen  Grizel.  At  the  Well  they  had  not  long  to 
wait  before  Mr.  McLean  suddenly  appeared  out 
of  the  mist,  and  to  their  astonishment  Miss  Ailie 
was  leaning  on  his  arm.  She  was  blushing  and 
smiling  too,  in  a  way  pretty  to  see,  though  it 
spoilt  the  effect  of  Stroke's  statement 

The  first  thing  Stroke  did  was  to  give  up  his 
sword  to  Tommy  and  to  apologise  for  its  being  an 
umbrella  on  account  of  the  unsettled  state  of  the 

384 


END   OF   THE  JACOBITE   RISING 

weather,  and  then  Corp  led  three  cheers,  the  cap* 
tain  alone  declining  to  join  in,  for  he  had  an  uneasy 
feeling  that  he  was  being  ridiculed. 

*'  But  I  thought  there  were  five  of  you,"  Mr. 
McLean  said ;  "  where  is  the  fifth  ?  " 

"  You  ken  best,"  replied  Tommy,  sulkily,  and 
sulky  he  remained  throughout  the  scene,  because 
he  knew  he  was  not  the  chief  figure  in  it.  Hav- 
ing this  knowledge  to  depress  him,  it  is  to  his 
credit  that  he  bore  himself  with  dignity  through- 
out, keeping  his  crew  so  well  in  hand  that  they 
dared  not  give  expression  to  their  natural  emotions. 

"As  you  are  aware,  Mr.  Sandys,"  McLean  began 
solemnly,  "  I  have  come  here  to  sue  for  pardon.  It 
is  not  yours  to  give,  you  reply,  the  Queen  alone 
can  pardon,  and  I  grant  it ;  but,  sir,  is  it  not  well 
known  to  all  of  us  that  you  can  get  anything  out 
of  her  you  like?  " 

Tommy's  eyes  roved  suspiciously,  but  the  sup- 
pliant proceeded  in  the  same  tone.  "  What  arc 
my  offences  ?  The  first  is  that  I  have  been  bear- 
ing arms  (unwittingly)  against  the  Throne;  the 
second,  that  I  have  brought  trouble  to  the  lady  by 
my  side,  who  has  the  proud  privilege  of  calling 
you  her  friend.  But,  Sandys,  such  amends  as  can 
come  from  an  erring  man  I  now  offer  to  make 
most  contritely.  Intercede  with  Her  Majesty  on 
my  behalf,  and  on  my  part  I  promise  to  war  against 
her  no  more.  I  am  willing  to  settle  down  in  the 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

neighbouring  town  as  a  law-abiding  citizen,  whom 
you  can  watch  with  eagle  eye.  Say,  what  more 
wouldst  thou  of  the  unhappy  Stuart  *?  " 

But  Tommy  would  say  nothing;  he  only  looked 
doubtfully  at  Miss  Ailie,  and  that  set  McLean  off 
again.  "  You  ask  what  reparation  I  shall  make  to 
this  lady "?  Sandys,  I  tell  thee  that  here  also  thou 
hast  proved  too  strong  for  me.  In  the  hope  that 
she  would  plead  for  me  with  you,  I  have  been 
driven  to  offer  her  my  hand  in  marriage,  and  she 
is  willing  to  take  me  if  thou  grantest  thy  consent" 

At  this  Gavinia  jumped  with  joy,  and  then  cried, 
"Up  wi'  her!"  words  whose  bearing  the  school- 
mistress fortunately  did  not  understand.  All  save 
Tommy  looked  at  Miss  Ailie,  and  she  put  her  arm 
on  Mr.  McLean's,  and  —  yes,  it  was  obvious,  Miss 
Ailie  was  a  lover  at  the  Cuttle  Well  at  last,  like 
so  many  others.  She  had  often  said  that  the  Den 
parade  was  vulgar,  but  she  never  said  it  again. 

It  was  unexpected  news  to  Tommy,  but  that 
was  not  what  lowered  his  head  in  humiliation  now. 
In  the  general  rejoicing  he  had  been  nigh  forgotten ; 
even  Elspeth  was  hanging  in  Miss  Ailie's  skirts, 
Gavinia  had  eyes  for  none  but  lovers,  Corp  was 
rapturously  examining  five  half-crowns  that  had 
been  dropped  into  his  hands  for  distribution.  Had 
Tommy  given  an  order  now,  who  would  have 
obeyed  it  ?  His  power  was  gone,  his  crew  would 
not  listen  to  another  word  against  Mr.  McLean. 

386 


END  OF  THE  JACOBITE  RISING 

"  Tommy  thought  Mr.  McLean  hated  you ! " 
said  Elspeth  to  Miss  Ailie. 

"  It  was  queer  you  made  sic  a  mistake ! "  said 
Corp  to  Tommy. 

"  Oh,  the  tattie-doolie  ! "  cried  Gavinia. 

So  they  knew  that  Mr.  McLean  had  only  been 
speaking  sarcastically;  of  a  sudden  they  saw 
through  and  despised  their  captain.  Tears  of  mor- 
tification rose  in  Tommy's  eyes,  and  kind-hearted 
Miss  Ailie  saw  them,  and  she  thought  it  was  her 
lover's  irony  that  made  him  smart  She  had  said 
little  hitherto,  but  now  she  put  her  hand  on  his 
shoulder,  and  told  them  all  that  she  did  indeed 
owe  the  supreme  joy  that  had  come  to  her  to  him. 
"  No,  Gavinia,"  she  said,  blushing,  "  I  will  not  give 
you  the  particulars,  but  I  assure  you  that  had  it 
not  been  for  Tommy,  Mr.  McLean  would  never 
have  asked  me  to  marry  him." 

Elspeth  crossed  proudly  to  the  side  of  her  noble 
brother  (who  could  scarcely  trust  his  ears),  and 
Gavinia  cried  in  wonder,  "  What  did  he  do  ?  " 

Now  McLean  had  seen  Tommy's  tears  also,  and 
being  a  kindly  man  he  dropped  the  satirist  and 
chimed  in  warmly,  "  And  if  I  had  not  asked  Miss 
Ailie  to  marry  me  I  should  have  lost  the  great 
happiness  of  my  life,  so  you  may  all  imagine  how 
beholden  I  feel  to  Tommy." 

Again  Tommy  was  the  centre-piece,  and  though 
these  words  were  as  puzzling  to  him  as  to  his  crew, 

387 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

their  sincerity  was  unmistakable,  and  once  mote 
his  head  began  to  waggle  complacently. 

"  And  to  show  how  grateful  we  are,"  said  Miss 
Ailie,  "we  are  to  give  him  a — a  sort  of  marriage 
present.  We  are  to  double  the  value  of  the  bur- 
sary he  wins  at  the  university — "  She  could  get 
no  further,  for  now  Elspeth  was  hugging  her,  and 
Corp  cheering  frantically,  and  Mr.  McLean  thought 
it  necessary  to  add  the  warning,  "  If  he  does  carry 
a  bursary,  you  understand;  for,  should  he  fail,  I 
give  him  nothing." 

"  Him  fail !  "  exclaimed  Corp,  with  whom  Miss 
Ailie  of  course  agreed.  "  And  he  can  spend  the 
money  in  whatever  way  he  chooses,"  she  said. 
"What  will  you  do  with  it,  Tommy?" 

The  lucky  boy  answered  instantly,  "  I'll  take 
Elspeth  to  Aberdeen  to  bide  with  me,"  and  then 
Elspeth  hugged  him,  and  Miss  Ailie  said  in  a 
delighted  aside  to  Mr.  McLean,  "  I  told  you  so," 
and  he,  too,  was  well  pleased. 

"  It  was  the  one  thing  needed  to  make  him 
work,"  the  schoolmistress  whispered.  "  Is  not  his 
love  for  his  sister  beautiful  ?  " 

McLean  admitted  that  it  was,  but  half-banter- 
ingly  he  said  to  Elspeth :  "  What  could  you  do 
in  lodgings,  you  excited  mite  ?  " 

"  I  can  sit  and  look  at  Tommy,"  she  answered 
quickly. 

"  But  he  will  be  away  for  hours  at  his  classes." 
^88 


END   OF   THE  JACOBITE   RISING 

"  I'll  sit  at  the  window  waiting  for  him,"  said  she 

"And  I'll  run  back  quick,"  said  Tommy. 

All  this  time  another  problem  had  been  bewil- 
dering Gavinia,  and  now  she  broke  in  eagerly: 
"  But  what  was  it  he  did  *?  I  thought  he  was  agin 
Mr.  McLean." 

"  And  so  did  I,"  said  Corp. 

"  I  cheated  you  grandly/'  replied  Tommy,  with 
the  audacity  he  found  so  useful. 

"And  a'  the  time  you  was  pretending  to  be 
agin  him,"  screamed  Gavinia,  "  was  you — was  you 
bringing  this  about  on  the  sly  ?  " 

Tommy  looked  up  into  Mr.  McLean's  face,  but 
could  get  no  guidance  from  it,  so  he  said  nothing: 
he  only  held  his  head  higher  than  ever.  "  Oh,  the 
clever  little  curse  ! "  cried  Corp,  and  Elspeth's  de- 
light was  as  ecstatic,  though  differently  worded. 
Yet  Gavinia  stuck  to  her  problem,  "  How  did  you 
do  it,  what  was  it  you  did  *?  "  and  the  cruel  Mc- 
Lean said:  "You  may  tell  her, Tommy;  you  have 
my  permission." 

It  would  have  been  an  awkward  position  for 
most  boys,  and  even  Tommy  —  but  next  moment 
he  said  quite  coolly :  "  I  think  you  and  me  and 
Miss  Ailie  should  keep  it  to  oursel's,  Gavinia's 
sic  a  gossip." 

"  Oh,  how  thoughtful  of  him  !  "  cried  Miss  Ailie 
the  deceived,  and  McLean  said:  "How  very 
thoughtful ! "  but  now  he  saw  in  a  flash  why  Mr. 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Cathro  still  had  hopes  that  Tommy  might  carry  a 
bursary. 

Thus  was  the  repentant  McLean  pardoned,  and 
nothing  remained  for  him  to  do  save  to  show  the 
crew  his  Lair,  which  they  had  sworn  to  destroy. 
He  had  behaved  so  splendidly  that  they  had  forgot- 
ten almost  that  they  were  the  emissaries  of  justice ; 
but  not  to  destroy  the  Lair  seemed  a  pity,  it  would 
be  such  a  striking  way  of  bringing  their  adventures 
in  the  Den  to  a  close.  The  degenerate  Stuart  read 
this  feeling  in  their  faces,  and  he  was  ready,  he 
said,  to  show  them  his  Lair  if  they  would  first 
point  it  out  to  him ;  but  here  was  a  difficulty,  for 
how  could  they  do  that  ?  For  a  moment  it  seemed 
as  if  the  negotiations  must  fall  through ;  but 
Sandys,  that  captain  of  resource,  invited  McLean 
to  step  aside  for  a  private  conference,  and  when  they 
rejoined  the  others,  McLean  said  gravely  that  he 
now  remembered  where  the  Lair  was  and  would 
guide  them  to  it. 

They  had  only  to  cross  a  plank,  invisible  in  the 
mist  until  they  were  close  to  it,  and  climb  a  slip- 
pery bank  strewn  with  fallen  trees.  McLean,  with 
a  mock  serious  air,  led  the  way,  Miss  Ailie  on  his 
arm.  Corp  and  Gavinia  followed,  weighted  and 
hampered  by  their  new  half-crowns,  and  Tommy 
and  Elspeth  in  the  rear  whispered  joyously  of  the 
coming  life.  And  so,  very  unprepared  for  it,  they 
moved  toward  the  tragedy  of  the  night. 

390 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

A  LETTER  TO   GOD 

"Do  you  keep  a  light  burning  in  the  Lair?" 
McLean  turned  to  ask,  forgetting  for  the  moment 
that  it  was  not  their  domicile,  but  his. 

"No,  there's  no  light,"  replied  Corp,  equally 
forgetful;  but  even  as  he  spoke,  he  stopped  so 
suddenly  that  Elspeth  struck  against  him.  For 
he  had  seen  a  light.  "  This  is  queer !  "  he  cried, 
and  both  he  and  Gavinia  fell  back  in  consterna- 
tion. McLean  pushed  forward  alone,  and  was 
back  in  a  trice,  with  a  new  expression  on  his  face. 
"  Are  you  playing  some  trick  on  me  *?  "  he  de- 
manded suspiciously  of  Tommy.  "  There  is 
some  one  there;  I  almost  ran  against  a  pair  of 
blazing  eyes." 

"But  there's  nobody;  there  can  be  nobody 
there,"  answered  Tommy  in  a  bewilderment  that 
was  obviously  unfeigned,  "unless — unless— 
He  looked  at  Corp,  and  the  eyes  of  both  finished  the 
sentence.  The  desolate  scene  at  Double  Dykes, 
which  the  meeting  with  McLean  and  Miss  Ailie 
had  driven  from  their  minds,  again  confronted 

39 1 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

them,  and  they  seemed  once  more  to  hear  the 
whimpering  of  the  Painted  Lady's  door. 

"  Unless  what  ?  "  asked  the  man  impatiently. 
But  still  the  two  boys  only  stared  at  each  other. 
"  The  Den's  no  mous  the  night,"  said  Corp  at 
last  in  a  low  voice,  and  his  unspoken  fears  spread 
to  the  womankind,  so  that  Miss  Ailie  shuddered 
and  Elspeth  gripped  Tommy  with  both  hands  and 
Gavinia  whispered,  "  Let's  away  hame,  we  can 
come  back  in  the  daylight." 

But  McLean  chafed  and  pressed  upward,  and 
next  moment  a  girl's  voice  was  heard  crying :  "  It 
is  no  business  of  yours ;  I  won't  let  you  touch  her." 

"  Grizel ! "  exclaimed  Tommy  and  his  crew 
simultaneously,  and  they  had  no  more  fear  until 
they  were  inside  the  Lair.  What  they  saw  had 
best  be  described  very  briefly.  A  fire  was  burning 
in  a  corner  of  the  Lair,  and  in  front  of  it,  partly 
covered  with  a  sheet,  lay  the  Painted  Lady  dead. 
Grizel  stood  beside  the  body  guarding  it,  her 
hands  clenched,  her  eyes  very  strange.  "You 
sha'n't  touch  her ! "  she  cried  passionately,  and  re- 
peated it  many  times,  as  if  she  had  lost  the  power 
to  leave  off,  but  Corp  crept  past  her  and  raised  the 
coverlet. 

"She's  straikit!"  he  shouted.  "Did  you  do 
it  yoursel',  Grizel  *?  God  behears,  she  did  it 
hersel' ! " 

A  very  long  silence  it  seemed  to  be  after  that 
392 


A   LETTER   TO   GOD 

Miss  Ailie  would  have  taken  the  motherless  girl 
to  her  arms,  but  first,  at  Corp's  discovery,  she  had 
drawn  back  in  uncontrollable  repulsion,  and  Grizel, 
about  to  go  to  her,  saw  it,  and  turned  from  her  to 
Tommy.  Her  eyes  rested  on  him  beseechingly, 
with  a  look  he  saw  only  once  again  in  them  until 
she  was  a  woman;  but  his  first  thought  was  not  for 
Grizel.  Elspeth  was  clinging  to  him,  terrified  and 
sobbing,  and  he  cried  to  her,  "  Shut  your  een,"  and 
then  led  her  tenderly  away.  He  was  always  good 
to  Elspeth. 

There  was  no  lack  of  sympathy  with  Grizel 
when  the  news  spread  through  the  town,  and  un- 
shod men  with  their  gallowses  hanging  down  and 
women  buttoning  as  they  ran,  hurried  to  the  Den. 
But  to  all  the  questions  put  to  her  and  to  all  the 
kindly  offers  made,  as  the  body  was  carried  to 
Double  Dykes,  she  only  rocked  her  arms,  crying, 
"  I  don't  want  anything  to  eat.  I  shall  stay  all 
night  beside  her.  I  am  not  frightened  at  my 
mamma.  I  won't  tell  you  why  she  was  in  the 
Den.  I  am  not  sure  how  long  she  has  been  dead. 
Oh,  what  do  these  little  things  matter?" 

The  great  thing  was  that  her  mamma  should  be 
buried  in  the  cemetery,  and  not  in  unconsecrated 
ground  with  a  stake  through  her  as  the  boys  had 
predicted ;  and  it  was  only  after  she  was  promised 
this,  that  Grizel  told  her  little  tale.  She  had  feared 

393 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

for  a  long  time  that  her  mamma  was  dying  of  con- 
sumption, but  she  told  no  one,  because  everybody 
was  against  her  and  her  mamma.  Her  mamma 
never  knew  that  she  was  dying,  and  sometimes  she 
used  to  get  so  much  better  that  Grizel  hoped  she 
would  live  a  long  time,  but  that  hope  never  lasted 
long.  The  reason  she  sat  so  much  with  Ballingall 
was  just  to  find  out  what  doctors  did  to  dying 
people  to  make  them  live  a  little  longer,  and  she 
watched  his  straiking  to  be  able  to  do  it  to  her 
mamma  when  the  time  came.  She  was  sure  none 
of  the  women  would  consent  to  straik  her  mamma. 
On  the  previous  night,  she  could  not  say  at  what 
hour,  she  had  been  awakened  by  a  cold  wind,  and  so 
she  knew  that  the  door  was  open.  She  put  out  her 
hand  in  the  darkness  and  found  that  her  mamma 
was  not  beside  her.  It  had  happened  before,  and 
she  was  not  frightened.  She  had  hidden  the  key 
of  the  door  that  night  and  nailed  down  the  win- 
dow, but  her  mamma  had  found  the  key.  Grizel 
rose,  lit  the  lamp,  and  having  dressed  hurriedly,  set 
off  with  wraps  to  the  Den.  Her  mamma  was  gen- 
erally as  sensible  as  anybody  in  Thrums,  but  some- 
times she  had  shaking  fits,  and  after  them  she 
thought  it  was  the  time  of  long  ago.  Then  she 
went  to  the  Den  to  meet  a  man  who  had  promised, 
she  said,  to  be  there,  but  he  never  came,  and  be- 
fore daybreak  Grizel  could  usually  induce  her  to 
return  home.  Latterly  she  had  persuaded  her 

394 


A   LETTER   TO   GOD 

mamma  to  wait  for  him  in  the  old  Lair,  because  it 
was  less  cold  there,  and  she  had  got  her  to  do  this 
last  night.  Her  mamma  did  not  seem  very  unwell, 
but  she  fell  asleep,  and  she  died  sleeping,  and  then 
Grizel  went  back  to  Double  Dykes  for  linen  and 
straiked  her. 

Some  say  in  Thrums  that  a  spade  was  found 
in  the  Lair,  but  that  is  only  the  growth  of  later 
years.  Grizel  had  done  all  she  could  do,  and 
through  the  long  Saturday  she  sat  by  the  side  of 
the  body,  helpless  and  unable  to  cry.  She  knew 
that  it  could  not  remain  there  much  longer,  but 
every  time  she  rose  to  go  and  confess,  fear  of  the 
indignities  to  which  the  body  of  her  darling  mamma 
might  be  subjected  pulled  her  back.  The  boys 
had  spoken  idly ;  but  hunted  Grizel,  who  knew 
so  much  less  and  so  much  more  than  any  of  them, 
believed  it  all. 

It  was  she  who  had  stood  so  near  Gavinia  in  the 
ruined  house.  She  had  only  gone  there  to  listen 
to  human  voices.  When  she  discovered  from  the 
talk  of  her  friends  that  she  had  left  a  light  burning 
at  Double  Dykes  and  the  door  open,  fear  of  the 
suspicions  this  might  give  rise  to  had  sent  her  to 
the  house  on  the  heels  of  the  two  boys,  and  it  was 
she  who  had  stolen  past  them  in  the  mist  to  put 
out  the  light  and  lock  the  door.  Then  she  had 
returned  to  her  mamma's  side. 

The  doctor  was  among  the  listeners,  almost  the 

395 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

only  dry-eyed  one,  but  he  was  not  dry-eyed  be* 
cause  he  felt  the  artless  story  least.  Again  and 
again  he  rose  from  his  chair  restlessly,  and  Grizel 
thought  he  scowled  at  her  when  he  was  really 
scowling  at  himself;  as  soon  as  she  had  finished 
he  cleared  the  room  brusquely  of  all  intruders, 
and  then  he  turned  on  her  passionately. 

"  Think  shame  of  yourseP,"  he  thundered,  "  for 
keeping  me  in  the  dark,"  and  of  course  she  took 
his  words  literally,  though  their  full  meaning  was, 
"  I  shall  scorn  myself  from  this  hour  for  not  having 
won  the  poor  child's  confidence." 

Oh,  he  was  a  hard  man,  Grizel  thought,  the 
hardest  of  them  all.  But  she  was  used  to  stand- 
ing up  to  hard  men,  and  she  answered  defiantly : 
"  I  did  mean  to  tell  you ;  that  day  you  sent  me 
with  the  bottle  to  Ballingall,  I  was  waiting  at  the 
surgery  door  to  tell  you,  but  you  were  cruel,  you 
said  I  was  a  thief,  and  then  how  could  I  tell  you^" 

This,  too,  struck  home,  and  the  doctor  winced, 
but  what  he  said  was,  "  You  fooled  me  for  a  whole 
week,  and  the  town  knows  it ;  do  you  think  I  can 
forgive  you  for  that  ?  " 

"  I  don't  care  whether  you  forgive  me,"  replied 
Grizel  at  once. 

"  Nor  do  I  care  whether  you  care,"  he  rapped 
out,  all  the  time  wishing  he  could  strike  himself; 
"  but  I'm  the  doctor  of  this  place,  and  when  your 
mother  was  ill  you  should  have  come  straight  to 

396 


A   LETTER   TO   GOD 

me.  What  had  I  done  that  you  should  be  afraid 
of  me?" 

"  I  am  not  afraid  of  you,"  she  replied,  "  I  am 
not  afraid  of  anyone,  but  mamma  was  afraid  of 
you  because  she  knew  you  had  said  cruel  things 
about  her,  and  I  thought  —  I  won't  tell  you  what 
I  thought."  But  with  a  little  pressing  she  changed 
her  mind  and  told  him.  "  I  was  not  sure  whether 
you  would  come  to  see  her,  though  I  asked  you ; 
and  if  you  came,  I  knew  you  would  tell  her  she 
was  dying,  and  that  would  have  made  her  scream. 
And  that  is  not  all.  I  thought  you  might  tell  her 
that  she  would  be  buried  with  a  stake  through 
her-  -" 

"Oh,  these  blackguard  laddies!"  cried  Mc- 
Queen, clenching  his  fists. 

"And  so  I  dared  not  tell  you,"  Grizel  con- 
cluded calmly ;  "  I  am  not  frightened  at  you,  but  I 
was  frightened  you  would  hurt  my  dear  darling 
mamma,"  and  she  went  and  stood  defiantly  between 
him  and  her  mother. 

The  doctor  moved  up  and  down  the  room,  cry- 
ing :  "  How  did  I  not  know  of  this,  why  was  I  not 
told  ?  "  and  he  knew  that  the  fault  had  been  his 
own,  and  so  was  furious  when  Grizel  told  him  so. 

"  Yes,  it  is,"  she  insisted,  "  you  knew  mamma 
was  an  unhappy  lady,  and  that  the  people  shouted 
things  against  her  and  terrified  her;  and  you  must 
have  known,  for  everybody  knew,  that  she  was 

397 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

sometimes  silly  and  wandered  about  all  night,  and 
you  are  a  big  strong  man,  and  so  you  should  have 
been  sorry  for  her ;  and  if  you  had  been  sorry,  you 
would  have  come  to  see  her  and  been  kind  to  her, 
and  then  you  would  have  found  it  all  out." 

"  Have  done,  lassie  !  "  he  said,  half  angrily,  half 
beseechingly ;  but  she  did  not  understand  that  he 
was  suffering,  and  she  went  on  relentlessly :  "  And 
you  knew  that  bad  men  used  to  come  to  see  her 
at  night  —  they  have  not  come  for  a  long  time  — 
but  you  never  tried  to  stop  their  coming,  and  I 
could  have  stopped  it  if  I  had  known  they  were 
bad ;  but  I  did  not  know  at  first,  and  I  was  only 
a  little  girl,  and  you  should  have  told  me." 

"  Have  done  ! "  It  was  all  that  he  could  say, 
for,  like  many,  he  had  heard  of  men  visiting  the 
Painted  Lady  by  stealth,  and  he  had  only  won- 
dered, with  other  gossips,  who  they  were. 

He  crossed  again  to  the  side  of  the  dead  woman. 
"  And  Ballingall's  was  the  only  corpse  you  ever 
saw  straiked  ?  "  he  said  in  wonder,  she  had  done 
her  work  so  well.  But  he  was  not  doubting  her ; 
he  knew  already  that  this  girl  was  clothed  in  truth- 
fulness. 

"  Was  it  you  that  kept  this  house  so  clean  ?  " 
he  asked  almost  irritably,  for  he  himself  was  the 
one  undusted,  neglected-looking  thing  in  it,  and 
he  was  suddenly  conscious  of  his  frayed  wristband 
and  of  buttons  hanging  by  a  thread. 

398 


A   LETTER   TO  GOD 

"Yes." 

"  What  age  are  you  *?  " 

"  I  think  I  am  thirteen." 

He  looked  long  at  her,  vindictively  she  thought, 
but  he  was  only  picturing  the  probable  future  of 
a  painted  lady's  child,  and  he  said  mournfully  to 
himself,  "  Ay,  it  does  not  even  end  here ;  and  that's 
the  crowning  pity  of  it."  But  Grizel  only  heard 
him  say,  "Poor  thing! "  and  she  bridled  immedi- 
ately. 

"  I  won't  let  you  pity  me,"  she  cried. 

"  You  dour  brat ! "  he  retorted.  "  But  you  need 
not  think  you  are  to  have  everything  your  own 
way  still.  I  must  get  some  Monypenny  woman 
to  take  you  till  the  funeral  is  over,  and  after  that 


"I  won't  go,"  said  Grizel,  determinedly;  "I 
shall  stay  with  mamma  till  she  is  buried." 

He  was  not  accustomed  to  contradiction,  and 
he  stamped  his  foot.  "  You  shall  do  as  you  are 
told,"  he  said. 

"  I  won't ! "  replied  Grizel,  and  she  also  stamped 
her  foot. 

"  Very  well,  then,  you  thrawn  tid ;  but  at  any 
xate  I'll  send  in  a  woman  to  sleep  with  you." 

"  I  want  no  one.    Do  you  think  I  am  afraid  ?  " 

"  I  think  you  will  be  afraid  when  you  wake  up 
in  the  darkness  and  find  yourself  alone  with  —  it." 

"I  sha'n't;  I  shall  remember  at  once  that  she  is 
399 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

to  be  buried  nicely  in  the  cemetery,  and  that  will 
make  me  happy." 

"You  unnatural " 

"Besides,  I  sha'n't  sleep;  I  have  something  to  do." 

His  curiosity  again  got  the  better  of  the  doctor. 
"  What  can  you  have  to  do  at  such  a  time  ?  "  he 
demanded,  and  her  reply  surprised  him,  "  I  am  to 
make  a  dress." 

"  You ! " 

"  I  have  made  them  before  now,"  she  said  in- 
dignantly. 

"  But  at  such  a  time ! " 

"  It  is  a  black  dress,"  she  cried ;  "  I  don't  have 
one.  I  am  to  make  it  out  of  mamma's." 

He  said  nothing  for  some  time,  then  "  When  did 
you  think  of  this  ?  " 

"  I  thought  of  it  weeks  ago,  I  bought  crape  at 
the  corner  shop  to  be  ready  and " 

She  thought  he  was  looking  at  her  in  horror, 
and  stopped  abruptly.  "I  don't  care  what  you 
think,"  she  said. 

"  What  I  do  think,"  he  retorted,  taking  up  his 
hat,  "  is,  that  you  are  a  most  exasperating  lassie.  If 
I  bide  here  another  minute,  I  believe  you'll  get 
round  me." 

"  I  don't  want  to  get  round  you." 

"Then  what  makes  you  say  such  things?  I 
question  if  I'll  get  an  hour's  sleep  to-night  for 
thinking  of  you." 

400 


A   LETTER   TO   GOD 

"  I  don't  want  you  to  think  of  me ! " 

He  groaned.  "  What  could  an  untidy,  hard* 
ened  old  single  man  like  me  do  with  you  in  his 
house  *?  "  he  said.  "  Oh,  you  little  limmer,  to  put 
such  a  thought  into  my  head." 

"  I  never  did !  "  she  exclaimed  indignantly. 

"  It  began,  I  do  believe  it  began,"  he  sighed, 
"the  first  time  I  saw  you  easying  Ballingall's 
pillows." 

"What  began?" 

"  You  brat,  you  wilful  brat,  don't  pretend  igno- 
rance. You  set  a  trap  to  catch  me  and " 

"  Oh ! "  cried  Grizel,  and  she  opened  the  door 
quickly.  "  Go  away,  you  horrid  man,"  she  said. 

He  liked  her  the  more  for  this  regal  action,  and 
therefore  it  enraged  him.  Sheer  anxiety  lest  he 
should  succumb  to  her  on  the  spot  was  what  made 
him  bluster  as  he  strode  off,  and  "  That  brat  of  a 
Grizel,"  or  "  The  Painted  Lady's  most  unbearable 
lassie,"  or  "  The  dour  little  besom  "  was  his  way 
of  referring  to  her  in  company  for  days;  but  if 
anyone  agreed  with  him  he  roared,  "Don't  be  a 
foci,  man ;  she's  a  wonder,  she's  a  delight,"  or  "You 
have  a  dozen  yourself,  Janet,  but  I  wouldna  neifer 
Grizel  for  the  lot  of  them."  And  it  was  he,  still 
denouncing  her  so  long  as  he  was  contradicted, 
who  persuaded  the  Auld  Licht  Minister  to  officiate 
at  the  funeral.  Then  he  said  to  himself,  "And 
now  I  wash  my  hands  of  her ;  I  have  done  all  that 

401 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

can  be  expected  of  me."  He  told  himself  this  a 
great  many  times,  as  if  it  were  a  medicine  that 
must  be  taken  frequently;  and  Grizel  heard  from 
Tommy,  with  whom  she  had  some  strange  con- 
versations, that  he  was  going  about  denouncing 
her  "up  hill  and  down  dale."  But  she  did  not 
care,  she  was  so  —  so  happy. 

For  a  hole  was  dug  for  the  Painted  Lady  in  the 
cemetery,  just  as  if  she  had  been  a  good  woman, 
and  Mr.  Dishart  conducted  the  service  in  Double 
Dykes  before  the  removal  of  the  body,  nor  did  he 
say  one  word  that  could  hurt  Grizel,  perhaps  be- 
cause his  wife  had  drawn  a  promise  from  him.  A 
large  gathering  of  men  followed  the  coffin,  three 
of  them  because,  as  you  may  remember,  Grizel 
had  dared  them  to  stay  away,  but  all  the  others 
out  of  sympathy  with  a  motherless  child  who,  as 
the  procession  started,  rocked  her  arms  in  delight 
because  her  mamma  was  being  buried  respectably. 
/  v  Being  a  woman,  she  could  not  attend  the  funeral, 
land  so  the  chief  mourner  was  Tommy,  as  you 
could  see  by  the  position  he  took  at  the  grave  and 
by  the  white  bands  Grizel  had  sewn  on  his  sleeves. 
He  was  looking  very  important,  as  if  he  had  some- 
thing remarkable  in  prospect;  but  little  attention 
was  given  him  until  the  cords  were  dropped  into 
the  grave,  and  a  prayer  offered  up,  when  he  pulled 
Mr.  Dishart's  coat  and  muttered  something  about 
a  paper.  Those  who  had  been  making  ready  to 

402 


A   LETTER   TO   GOD 

depart  swung  round  again,  and  the  minister  told 
him  if  he  had  anything  to  say  to  speak  out. 

"  It's  a  paper,"  Tommy  said,  nervous  yet  elated, 
and  addressing  all,  "  that  Grizel  put  in  the  coffin. 
She  told  me  to  tell  you  about  it  when  the  cords 
fell  on  the  lid." 

"  What  sort  of  a  paper  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Dishart, 
frowning. 

"  It's  —  it's  a  letter  to  God,"  Tommy  gasped. 

Nothing  was  to  be  heard  except  the  shoveling 
of  earth  into  the  grave.  "  Hold  your  spade,  John," 
the  minister  said  to  the  grave-digger,  and  then  even 
that  sound  stopped.  "  Go  on,"  Mr.  Dishart  signed 
to  the  boy. 

"Grizel  doesna  believe  her  mother  has  much 
chance  of  getting  to  heaven,"  Tommy  said,  "  and 
she  wrote  the  letter  to  God,  so  that  when  He  opens 
the  coffins  on  the  last  day  He  will  find  it  and  read 
about  them." 

"  About  whom  ?  "  asked  the  stern  minister. 

"  About  Grizel's  father,  for  one.  She  doesna 
know  his  name,  but  the  Painted  Lady  wore  a 
locket  wi'  a  picture  of  him  on  her  breast,  and  it's 
buried  wi'  her,  and  Grizel  told  God  to  look  at  it 
so  as  to  know  him.  She  thinks  her  mother  will 
be  damned  for  having  her,  and  that  it  winna  be 
fair  unless  God  damns  her  father  too." 

"  Go  on,"  said  Mr.  Dishart. 

"  There  was  three  Thrums  men  —  I  think  they 
403 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

were  gentlemen,"  Tommy  continued  almost 
blithely,  "that  used  to  visit  the  Painted  Lady  in 
the  night-time,  afore  she  took  ill.  They  wanted 
Grizel  to  promise  no  to  tell  about  their  going  to 
Double  Dykes,  and  she  promised  because  she  was 
ower  innocent  to  know  what  they  went  for  —  but 
their  names  are  in  the  letter." 

A  movement  in  the  crowd  was  checked  by  the 
minister's  uplifted  arm.  "  Go  on,"  he  cried. 

"  She  wouldna  tell  me  who  they  were,  because 
it  would  have  been  breaking  her  promise,"  said 
Tommy,  "  but  —  "  he  looked  around  him  inquisi- 
tively —  "  but  they're  here  at  the  funeral." 

The  mourners  were  looking  sideways  at  each 
other,  some  breathing  hard,  but  none  dared  to 
speak  before  the  minister.  He  stood  for  a  long 
time  in  doubt,  but  at  last  he  signed  to  John  to 
proceed  with  the  filling-in  of  the  grave.  Contrary 
to  custom,  all  remained.  Not  until  the  grave  was 
again  level  with  the  sward  did  Mr.  Dishart  speak, 
and  then  it  was  with  a  gesture  that  appalled  his 
hearers.  "  This  grave,"  he  said,  raising  his  arm,  "  is 
locked  till  the  day  of  judgment." 

Leaving  him  standing  there,  a  threatening  fig- 
ure, they  broke  into  groups  and  dispersed,  walking 
slowly  at  first,  and  then  fast,  to  tell  their  wives. 


404 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

AN   ELOPEMENT 

THE  solitary  child  remained  at  Double  Dykes, 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  her  father,  for  the  Painted 
Lady's  manner  of  leaving  the  world  had  made 
such  a  stir  that  the  neighbours  said  he  must  have 
heard  of  it,  even  though  he  were  in  London,  and 
if  he  had  the  heart  of  a  stone  he  could  not  desert 
his  bairn.  They  argued  thus  among  themselves, 
less  as  people  who  were  sure  of  it  than  to  escape 
the  perplexing  question,  what  to  do  with  Grizel 
if  the  man  never  claimed  her  *?  and  before  her  they 
spoke  of  his  coming  as  a  certainty,  because  it 
would  be  so  obviously  the  best  thing  for  her.  In 
the  meantime  they  overwhelmed  her  with  offers  of 
everything  she  could  need,  which  was  kindly,  but 
not  essential,  for  after  the  funeral  expenses  had 
been  paid  (Grizel  insisted  on  paying  them  herself) 
she  had  still  several  gold  pieces,  found  in  her 
mamma's  beautiful  tortoise-shell  purse,  and  there 
were  nearly  twenty  pounds  in  the  bank. 

But  day  after  day  passed,  and  the  man  had  not 
come.     Perhaps  he  resented  the  Painted  Lady's 

405 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

ostentatious  death ;  which,  if  he  was  nicely  strung, 
must  have  jarred  upon  his  nerves.  He  could 
hardly  have  acknowledged  Grizel  now  without 
publicity  being  given  to  his  private  concerns.  Or 
he  may  never  have  heard  of  the  Painted  Lady's 
death ;  or  if  he  read  it,  he  may  not  have  known 
which  painted  lady  in  particular  she  was.  Or  he 
may  have  married,  and  told  his  wife  all  and  she 
had  forgiven  him,  which  somehow,  according  to 
the  plays  and  the  novels,  cuts  the  past  adrift 
from  a  man  and  enables  him  to  begin  again  at 
yesterday.  Whatever  the  reason,  Grizel's  father 
was  in  no  hurry  to  reveal  himself;  and,  though  not 
to  her,  among  themselves  the  people  talked  of  the 
probability  of  his  not  coming  at  all.  She  could 
not  remain  alone  at  Double  Dykes,  they  all  ad- 
mitted; but  where,  then,  should  she  go?  No 
fine  lady  in  need  of  a  handmaid  seemed  to  think 
a  painted  lady's  child  would  suit;  indeed,  Grizel 
at  first  sight  had  not  the  manner  that  attracts  phil- 
anthropists. Once  only  did  the  problem  approach 
solution ;  a  woman  in  the  Denhead  was  willing  to 
take  the  child  because  (she  expressed  it)  as  she 
had  seven  she  might  as  well  have  eight,  but  her 
man  said  no,  he  would  not  have  his  bairns  fiPt. 
Others  would  have  taken  her  cordially  for  a  few 
weeks  or  months,  had  they  not  known  that  at  the 
end  of  this  time  they  would  be  blamed,  even  by 
themselves,  if  they  let  her  go.  All,  in  short,  were 

406 


AN  ELOPEMENT 

eager  to  show  her  kindness  if  one  would  give  het 
a  home,  but  where  was  that  one  to  be  found  ? 

Much  of  this  talk  came  to  Grizel  through 
Tommy,  and  she  told  him  in  the  house  of  Double 
Dykes  that  people  need  not  trouble  themselves 
about  her,  for  she  had  no  wish  to  stay  with  them. 
It  was  only  chanty  they  brought  her;  no  one 
wanted  her  for  herself.  "  It  is  because  I  am  a  child 
of  shame,"  she  told  him  dry-eyed. 

He  fidgeted  on  his  chair,  and  asked,  "  What's 
that  ?  "  not  very  honestly. 

"  I  don't  know,"  she  said,  "  no  one  will  tell  me, 
but  it  is  something  you  can't  love." 

"  You  have  a  terrible  wish  to  be  loved,"  he  said  in 
wonder,  and  she  nodded  her  head  wistfully.  "  That 
is  not  what  I  wish  for  most  of  all,  though,"  she 
told  him ;  and  when  he  asked  what  she  wished  for 
most  of  all,  she  said,  "  To  love  somebody  —  oh, 
it  would  be  sweet ! " 

To  Tommy,  most  sympathetic  of  mortals,  she 
seemed  a  very  pathetic  little  figure,  and  tears  came 
to  his  eyes  as  he  surveyed  her ;  he  could  always 
cry  very  easily.  "  If  it  wasna  for  Elspeth,"  he  be- 
gan, stammering,  "  I  could  love  you,  but  you  winna 
let  a  body  do  onything  on  the  sly." 

It  was  a  vague  offer,  but  she  understood,  and 
became  the  old  Grizel  at  once.  "  I  don't  want 
you  to  love  me,"  she  said  indignantly;  "I  don't 
think  you  know  how  to  love." 

407 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

"  Neither  can  you  know,  then,"  retorted  l\>tntny 
huffily,  "  for  there's  nobody  for  you  to  love." 

"Yes,  there  is,"  she  said,  "and  I  do  love  her 
and  she  loves  me." 

"  But  wha  is  she  <? " 

''  That  girl."  To  his  amazement  she  pointed  to 
her  own  reflection  in  the  famous  mirror  the  size  of 
which  had  scandalised  Thrums.  Tommy  thought 
this  affection  for  herself  barely  respectable,  but  he 
dared  not  say  so,  lest  he  should  be  put  to  the  door. 
"  I  love  her  ever  so  much,"  Grizel  went  on,  "  and 
she  is  so  fond  of  me  she  hates  to  see  me  unhappy. 
Don't  look  so  sad,  dearest,  darlingest,"  she  cried 
vehemently ;  "  I  love  you,  you  know,  oh,  you 
sweet ! "  and  with  each  epithet  she  kissed  her  re- 
flection and  looked  defiantly  at  the  boy. 

"  But  you  canna  put  your  arms  round  her  and 
hug  her,"  he  pointed  out  triumphantly,  and  so  he 
had  the  last  word  after  all.  Unfortunately  Grizel 
kept  this  side  of  her,  new  even  to  Tommy,  hidden 
from  all  others,  and  her  unresponsiveness  lost  her 
many  possible  friends.  Even  Miss  Ailie,  who  now 
had  a  dressmaker  in  the  blue-and-white  room,  sit- 
ting on  a  bedroom  chair  and  sewing  for  her  life 
(oh,  the  agony  —  or  is  it  the  rapture  ?  of  having  to 
decide  whether  to  marry  in  gray  with  beads  or 
brown  plain  to  the  throat),  even  sympathetic  Miss 
Ailie,  having  met  with  several  rebuffs,  said  that 
Grizel  had  a  most  unaffectionate  nature,  and,  "  Ay, 

408 


AN   ELOPEMENT 

she's  hard)',"  agreed  the  town,  "but  it's  bettei, 
maybe,  for  hcrseP."  There  are  none  so  unpopular 
as  the  silent  ones. 

If  only  Miss  Ailie,  or  others  like  her,  could  have 
slipped  noiselessly  into  Double  Dykes  at  night, 
they  would  have  found  Grizel's  pillow  wet.  But 
she  would  have  heard  them  long  before  they 
reached  the  door,  and  jumped  to  the  floor  in  terror, 
thinking  it  was  her  father's  step  at  last.  For,  un- 
known to  anyone,  his  coming,  which  the  town  so 
anxiously  desired,  was  her  one  dread.  She  had  told 
Tommy  what  she  should  say  to  him  if  he  came, 
and  Tommy  had  been  awed  and  delighted,  they 
were  such  scathing  things;  probably,  had  the  ne- 
cessity arisen,  she  would  have  found  courage  to  say 
them,  but  they  were  made  up  in  the  daytime,  and 
at  night  they  brought  less  comfort.  Then  she 
listened  fearfully  and  longed  for  the  morning,  wild 
ideas  coursing  through  her  head  of  flying  before  he 
could  seize  her;  but  when  morning  came,  it  brought 
other  thoughts,  as  of  the  strange  remarks  she  had 
heard  about  her  mamma  and  herself  during  the 
past  few  days.  To  brood  over  these  was  the  most 
unhealthy  occupation  she  could  find,  but  it  was  her 
only  birthright.  Many  of  the  remarks  came  un- 
guardedly from  lips  that  had  no  desire  to  cause  her 
pain,  others  fell  in  a  rage  because  she  would  not 
tell  what  were  the  names  in  her  letter  to  God.  Th? 
words  that  troubled  her  most,  perhaps,  were  thr 

409 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

doctor's,  "  She  is  a  brave  lass,  but  it  must  be  in  her 
blood."  They  were  not  intended  for  her  ears,  but 
she  heard.  "  What  did  he  mean  ?  "  she  asked  Miss 
Ailie,  Mrs.  Dishart,  and  others  who  came  to  see 
her,  and  they  replied  with  pain  that  it  had  only 
been  a  doctor's  remark,  of  no  importance  to  people 
who  were  well.  "Then  why  are  you  crying?" 
she  demanded,  looking  them  full  in  the  face  with 
eyes  there  was  no  deceiving. 

"Oh,  why  is  everyone  afraid  to  tell  me  the 
truth ! "  she  would  cry,  beating  her  palms  in 
anguish. 

She  walked  into  McQueen's  surgery  and  said, 
"  Could  you  not  cut  it  out  ?  "  so  abruptly  that  he 
wondered  what  she  was  speaking  about. 

"The  bad  thing  that  is  in  my  blood,"  she 
explained.  "  Do  cut  it  out ;  I  sha'n't  scream.  I 
promise  not  to  scream." 

He  sighed  and  answered,  "  If  it  could  be  cut 
out,  lassie,  I  would  try  to  do  it,  though  it  was  the 
most  dangerous  of  operations." 

She  looked  in  anguish  at  him.  "  There  are 
cleverer  doctors  than  you,  aren't  there  ? "  she 
asked,  and  he  was  not  offended. 

"  Ay,  a  hantle  cleverer,"  he  told  her,  "  but  none 
so  clever  as  that.  God  help  you,  bairn,  if  you 
have  to  do  it  yourself  some  day." 

**  Can  I  do  it  myself?  "  she  cried,  brightening, 
•'  I  shall  do  it  now.  Is  it  done  with  a  knife  ?  " 

410 


AN   ELOPEMENT 

"With  a  sharper  knife  than  a  surgeon's,"  he 
answered,  and  then  regretting  he  had  said  so  much, 
he  tried  to  cheer  her.  But  that  he  could  not  do. 
"  You  are  afraid  to  tell  me  the  truth  too,"  she  said, 
and  when  she  went  away  he  was  sorry  for  her,  but 
not  so  sorry  as  she  was  for  herself.  "  When  I  am 
grown  up,"  she  announced  dolefully  to  Tommy, 
"  I  shall  be  a  bad  woman,  just  like  mamma." 

"  Not  if  you  try  to  be  good,"  he  said. 

"Yes,  I  shall.  There  is  something  in  my  blood 
that  will  make  me  bad,  and  I  so  wanted  to  be 
good.  Oh!  oh!  oh!" 

She  told  him  of  the  things  she  had  heard  people 
say,  but  though  they  perplexed  him  almost  as 
much  as  her,  he  was  not  so  hopeless  of  learning 
their  meaning,  for  here  was  just  the  kind  of  diffi- 
culty he  liked  to  overcome.  "  I'll  get  it  out  o' 
Blinder,"  he  said  with  confidence  in  his  ingenuity, 
"  and  then  I'll  tell  you  what  he  says."  But  how- 
ever much  he  might  strive  to  do  so,  Tommy  could 
never  repeat  anything  without  giving  it  frills  and 
other  adornment  of  his  own  making,  and  Grizel 
knew  this.  "  I  must  hear  what  he  says  myself," 
she  insisted. 

"  But  he  winna  speak  plain  afore  you." 

"  Yes,  he  will,  if  he  does  not  know  I  am  there." 

The  plot  succeeded,  though  only  partially,  for 
so  quick  was  the  blind  man's  sense  of  hearing  that 
in  the  middle  of  the  conversation  he  said  sharply, 

411 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

;%  Somebody's  ahint  the  dyke ! "  and  he  caught  Gri- 
zel  by  the  shoulder.  "It's  the  Painted  Lady's 
lassie,"  he  said  when  she  screamed,  and  he  stormed 
against  Tommy  for  taking  such  advantage  of  his 
blindness.  But  to  her  he  said  gently,  "  I  daresay 
you  egged  him  on  to  this,  meaning  well,  but  you 
maun  forget  most  of  what  I've  said,  especially 
about  being  in  the  blood.  I  spoke  in  haste,  it 
doesna  apply  to  the  like  of  you." 

"  Yes,  it  does,"  replied  Grizel,  and  all  that  had 
been  revealed  to  her  she  carried  hot  to  the  surgery, 
Tommy  stopping  at  the  door  in  as  great  perturba- 
tion as  herself.  "  I  know  what  being  in  the  blood 
is  now,"  she  said  tragically  to  McQueen,  "  there  is 
something  about  it  in  the  Bible.  I  am  the  child  of 
evil  passions,  and  that  means  that  I  was  born  with 
wickedness  in  my  blood.  It  is  lying  sleeping  in 
me  just  now  because  I  am  only  thirteen,  and  if  I 
can  prevent  its  waking  when  I  am  grown  up  I 
shall  always  be  good,  but  a  very  little  thing  will 
waken  it ;  it  wants  so  much  to  be  wakened,  and  if 
it  is  once  wakened  it  will  run  all  through  me,  and 
soon  I  shall  be  like  mamma." 

It  was  all  horribly  clear  to  her,  and  she  would 
not  wait  for  words  of  comfort  that  could  only  ob- 
scure the  truth.  Accompanied  by  Tommy,  who 
said  nothing,  but  often  glanced  at  her,  fascinated 
yet  alarmed,  as  if  expecting  to  see  the  ghastly 
change  come  over  her  at  any  moment  —  for  he 

412 


AN  ELOPEMENT 

was  as  convinced  as  she,  and  had  the  livelier  im- 
agination —  she  returned  to  Monypenny  to  beg  of 
Blinder  to  tell  her  one  thing  more.  And  he  told 
her,  not  speaking  lightly,  but  because  his  words 
contained  a  solemn  warning  to  a  girl  who  he 
thought  might  need  it. 

"  What  sort  of  thing  would  be  likeliest  to  waken 
the  wickedness  ?  "  she  asked,  holding  her  breath 
for  Lne  answer. 

"  Keeping  company  wi'  ill  men,"  said  Blinder, 
gravely. 

"  Like  the  man  who  made  mamma  wicked,  like 
my  father  *?  " 

"  Ay,"  Blinder  replied ;  "  fly  from  the  like  of  him, 
my  lass,  though  it  should  be  to  the  other  end  of 
the  world." 

She  stood  quite  still,  with  a  most  sorrowful  face, 
and  then  ran  away,  ran  so  swiftly  that  when  Tom- 
my, who  had  lingered  for  a  moment,  came  to  the 
door  she  was  already  out  of  sight.  Scarcely  less 
excited  than  she,  he  set  off  for  Double  Dykes,  his 
imagination  in  such  a  blaze  that  he  looked  fear- 
fully in  the  pools  of  the  burn  for  a  black  frock. 
But  Grizel  had  not  drowned  herself;  she  was  stand- 
ing ere:t  in  her  home,  like  one  at  bay,  her  arms 
rigid,  her  hands  clenched,  and  when  he  pushed 
open  the  door  she  screamed. 

"Grizel,"  said  the  distressed  boy,  "did  you 
think  I  was  him  come  for  you *?  " 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

"Yes!" 

"Maybe  he'll  no   come.     The  folk   think  he 


"But  if  he  does,  if  he  does!" 

"  Maybe  you  needna  go  wi'  him  unless  you're 
willing'?" 

"  I  must,  he  can  compel  me  because  he  is  my 
father.  Oh !  oh  !  oh !  "  She  lay  down  on  the  bed, 
and  on  her  eyes  there  slowly  formed  the  little  wells 
of  water  Tommy  was  to  know  so  well  in  time. 
He  stood  by  her  side  in  anguish ;  for  though  his 
own  tears  came  at  the  first  call,  he  could  never 
face  them  in  others. 

"  Grizel,"  he  said  impulsively,  "  there's  just  one 
thing  for  you  to  do.  You  have  money,  and  you 
maun  run  away  afore  he  comes ! " 

She  jumped  up  at  that.  "  I  have  thought  of 
it,"  she  answered,  "  I  am  always  thinking  about  it, 
but  how  can  I  —  oh,  how  can  I  ?  It  would  not 
be  respectable." 

"  To  run  away  ?  " 

"  To  go  by  myself,"  said  the  poor  girl,  "  and  I 
do  want  to  be  respectable,  it  would  be  sweet." 

In  some  ways  Tommy  was  as  innocent  as  she, 
and  her  reasoning  seemed  to  him  to  be  sound. 
She  was  looking  at  him  woefully,  and  entreaty  was 
on  her  face ;  all  at  once  he  felt  what  a  lonely 
little  crittur  she  was,  and  in  a  burst  of  manhood  — 

414 


AN   ELOPEMENT 

But,  "  Dinna  prig  wi'  me  to  go  with  you,"  he 
said,  struggling. 

"I  have  not!"  she  answered  panting;  and  she 
had  not  in  words,  but  the  mute  appeal  was  still  on 
her  face.  "  Grizel,"  he  cried,  "  I'll  come ! " 

Then  she  seized  his  hand  and  pressed  it  to  her 
breast,  saying,  "  Oh,  Tommy,  I  am  so  fond  of 
you ! " 

It  was  the  first  time  she  had  admitted  it,  and 
his  head  wagged  well  content,  as  if  saying  for  him, 
"  I  knew  you  would  understand  me  some  day." 
But  next  moment  the  haunting  shadow  that  so  of- 
ten overtook  him  in  the  act  of  soaring  fell  cold 
upon  his  mind,  and  "  I  maun  take  Elspeth ! "  he 
announced,  as  if  Elspeth  had  him  by  the  leg. 

"  You  sha'n't !  "  said  Grizel's  face. 

"  She  winna  let  go,"  said  Tommy's. 

Grizel  quivered  from  top  to  toe.  "  I  hate  El- 
speth ! "  she  cried,  with  curious  passion,  and  the 
more  moral  Tommy  was  ashamed  of  her. 

"You  dinna  ken  how  fond  o'  her  I  am,"  he 
said. 

"  Yes,  I  do." 

"  Then  you  shouldna  want  me  to  leave  her  and 
go  wi'  you." 

"That  is  why  I  want  it,"  Grizel  blurted  out, 
and  now  we  are  all  ashamed  of  her.  But  fortun- 
ately Tommy  did  not  see  how  much  she  had  ad- 

415 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

mitted  in  that  hasty  cry ;  and  as  neither  would  giye 
way  to  the  other,  they  parted  stiffly,  his  last  words 
being,  "  Mind,  it  wouldna  be  respectable  to  go  by 
yoursel',"  and  hers  "I  don't  care,  I'm  going." 
Nevertheless  it  was  she  who  slept  easily  that  night, 
and  he  who  tossed  about  almost  until  cockcrow. 
She  had  only  one  ugly  dream,  of  herself  wander- 
ing from  door  to  door  in  a  strange  town,  asking  for 
lodgings,  but  the  woman  who  answered  her  weary 
knocks — there  were  many  doors,  but  invariably 
the  same  woman  —  always  asked  suspiciously  "  Is 
Tommy  with  you  ?  "  and  Grizel  shook  her  head, 
and  then  the  woman  drove  her  away,  perceiving 
that  she  was  not  respectable.  This  woke  her,  and 
she  feared  the  dream  would  come  true,  but  she 
clenched  her  fists  in  the  darkness,  saying,  "  I  can't 
help  it,  I  am  going,  and  I  won't  have  Elspeth," 
and  after  that  she  slept  in  peace.  In  the  meantime 
Tommy,  the  imaginative  —  but  that  night  he  was 
not  Tommy,  rather  was  he  Grizel,  for  he  saw  her 
as  we  can  only  see  ourselves.  Now  she  —  or  he, 
if  you  will  —  had  been  caught  by  her  father  and 
brought  back,  and  she  turned  into  a  painted  thing 
like  her  mother.  She  brandished  a  brandy  bottle 
and  a  stream  of  foul  words  ran  lightly  from  her 
mouth,  and  suddenly  stopped,  because  she  was 
wailing,  "  I  wanted  so  to  be  good,  it  is  sweet  to  be 
good  ! "  Now  a  man  with  a  beard  was  whipping 
her,  and  Tommy  felt  each  lash  on  his  own  body, 

416 


AN   ELOPEMENT 

so  that  he  had  to  strike  out,  and  he  started  up  in 
bed,  and  the  horrible  thing  was  that  he  had  never 
been  asleep.  Thus  it  went  on  until  early  morning, 
when  his  eyes  were  red  and  his  body  was  damp 
with  sweat. 

But  now  again  he  was  Tommy,  and  at  first  even 
to  think  of  leaving  Elspeth  was  absurd.  Yet  it 
would  be  pleasant  to  leave  Aaron,  who  disliked 
him  so  much.  To  disappear  without  a  word  would 
be  a  fine  revenge,  for  the  people  would  say  that 
Aaron  must  have  ill-treated  him ;  and  while  they 
searched  the  pools  of  the  burn  for  his  body,  Aaron 
would  be  looking  on  trembling,  perhaps  with  a 
policeman's  hand  on  his  shoulder.  Tommy  saw 
the  commotion  as  vividly  as  if  the  searchers  were 
already  out  and  he  in  a  tree  looking  down  at  them ; 
but  in  a  second  he  also  heard  Elspeth  skirling,  and 
down  he  flung  himself  from  the  tree,  crying,  "  I'm 
here,  Elspeth,  dinna  greet;  oh,  what  a  brute  I've 
been ! "  No,  he  could  not  leave  Elspeth.  How 
wicked  of  Grizel  to  expect  it  of  him !  She  was  a 
bad  one,  Grizel. 

But  having  now  decided  not  to  go,  his  sympathy 
with  the  girl  who  was  to  lose  him  returned  in  a 
rush,  and  before  he  went  to  school  he  besought  her 
to  —  it  amounted  to  this,  to  be  more  like  himself; 
that  is,  he  begged  her  to  postpone  her  departure 
indefinitely,  not  to  make  up  her  mind  until  to- 
morrow —  or  the  day  after  —  or  the  day  after  that 

417 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

He  produced  reasons,  as  that  she  had  only  four 
pounds  and  some  shillings  now,  while  by-and-by 
she  might  get  the  Painted  Lady's  money,  at  present 
in  the  bank ;  also  she  ought  to  wait  for  the  money 
that  would  come  to  her  from  the  roup  of  the  fur- 
niture. But  Grizel  waived  all  argument  aside ;  se- 
cure in  her  four  pounds  and  shillings  she  was  deter- 
mined to  go  to-night,  for  her  father  might  be  here 
to-morrow;  she  was  going  to  London  because  it 
was  so  big  that  no  one  could  ever  find  her  there, 
and  she  would  never,  never  write  to  Tommy  to 
tell  him  how  she  fared,  lest  the  letter  put  her  father 
on  her  track.  He  implored  her  to  write  once,  so 
that  the  money  owing  her  might  be  forwarded,  but 
even  this  bribe  did  not  move  her,  and  he  set  off  for 
school  most  gloomily. 

Cathrowas  specially  aggravating  that  day,  nagged 
him,  said  before  the  whole  school  that  he  was  a 
numskull,  even  fell  upon  him  with  the  tawse,  and 
for  no  earthly  reason  except  that  Tommy  would 
not  bother  his  head  with  the  oratio  obtiqua.  If  there 
is  any  kind  of  dominie  more  maddening  than  an- 
other, it  is  the  one  who  will  not  leave  you  alone 
(ask  any  thoughtful  boy).  How  wretched  the  lot 
of  him  whose  life  is  cast  among  fools  not  capable 
of  understanding  htm !  what  was  that  saying  about 
entertaining  angels  unawares  ?  London !  Grizel 
had  more  than  sufficient  money  to  take  two  there, 
and  once  in  London,  a  wonder  such  as  himself  was 

418 


AN   ELOPEMENT 

bound  to  do  wondrous  things.  Now  that  he  thought 
of  it,  to  become  a  minister  was  abhorrent  to  him ; 
to  preach  would  be  rather  nice;  oh,  what  things 
he  would  say  (he  began  to  make  them  up,  and  they 
were  so  grand  that  he  almost  wept),  but  to  be  good 
after  the  sermon  was  over,  always  to  be  good,  (even 
when  Elspeth  was  out  of  the  way),  never  to  think 
queer  unsayable  things,  never  to  say  Stroke,  never, 
in  short,  to  "  find  a  way  " — he  was  appalled.  If 
it  had  not  been  for  Elspeth • 

So  even  Elspeth  did  not  need  him.  When  he 
went  home  from  school,  thinking  only  of  her,  he 
found  that  she  had  gone  to  the  Auld  Licht  manse 
to  play  with  little  Margaret.  Very  well,  if  such 
was  her  wish,  he  would  go.  Nobody  wanted  him 
except  Grizel.  Perhaps  when  news  came  from 
London  of  his  greatness,  they  would  think  more 
of  him.  He  would  send  a  letter  to  Thrums,  ask- 
ing Mr.  McLean  to  transfer  his  kindness  to  El- 
speth. That  would  show  them  what  a  noble  fellow 
he  was.  Elspeth  would  really  benefit  by  his  dis- 
appearance; he  was  running  away  for  Elspeth's 
sake.  And  when  he  was  great,  which  would  be  in 
a  few  years,  he  would  come  back  for  her. 

But  no,  'he — .  The  dash  represents  Tommy 
swithering  once  more,  and  he  was  at  one  or  other 
end  of  the  swither  all  day.  When  he  acted  sharply 
it  was  always  on  impulse,  and  as  soon  as  the  die 
was  cast  he  was  a  philosopher  with  no  regrets. 

419 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

But  when  he  had  time  to  reflect,  he  jumped  mis- 
erably back  and  forward.  So  when  Grizel  was 
ready  to  start,  he  did  not  know  in  the  least  what 
he  meant  to  do. 

She  was  to  pass  by  the  Cuttle  Well,  on  her  way 
to  Tilliedrum,  where  she  would  get  the  London 
train,  he  had  been  told  coldly,  and  he  could  be 
there  at  the  time  —  if  he  liked.  The  time  was 
seven  o'clock  in  the  evening  on  a  week-day,  when 
the  lovers  are  not  in  the  Den,  and  Tommy  arrived 
first.  When  he  stole  through  the  small  field  that 
separates  Monypenny  from  the  Den,  his  decision 
was — but  on  reaching  the  Cuttle  Well,  its  near- 
ness to  the  uncanny  Lair  chilled  his  courage,  and 
now  he  had  only  come  to  bid  her  good-bye.  She 
was  very  late,  and  it  suddenly  struck  him  that  she 
had  already  set  off.  "  After  getting  me  to  promise 
to  go  wi'  her ! "  he  said  to  himself  at  once. 

But  Grizel  came ;  she  was  only  late  because  it 
had  taken  her  such  a  long  time  to  say  good-bye  to 
the  girl  in  the  glass.  She  was  wearing  her  black 
dress  and  lustre  jacket,  and  carried  in  a  bundle  the 
few  treasures  she  was  taking  with  her,  and  though 
she  did  not  ask  Tommy  if  he  was  coming,  she  cast 
a  quick  look  round  to  see  if  he  had  a  bundle  any- 
where, and  he  had  none.  That  told  her  his  deci- 
sion, and  she  would  have  liked  to  sit  down  for  a 
minute  and  cry,  but  of  course  she  had  too  much 
pride,  and  she  bade  him  farewell  so  promptly  that 

420 


AN   ELOPEMENT 

he  thought  he  had  a  grievance.  "  I'm  coming  as 
far  as  the  toll-house  wi'  you,"  he  said  sulkily,  and 
so  they  started  together. 

At  the  toll-house  Grizel  stopped.  "  It's  a  fine 
night,"  said  Tommy  almost  apologetically,  "  I'll 
go  as  far  as  the  quarry  o'  Benshee." 

When  they  came  to  the  quarry,  he  said,  "  We're 
no  half-roads  yet,  I'll  go  wi'  you  as  far  as  Padami- 
rum."  Now  she  began  to  wonder  and  to  glance 
at  him  sideways,  which  made  him  more  uncom- 
fortable than  ever.  To  prevent  her  asking  him 
a  question  for  which  he  had  no  answer,  he  said, 
"  What  makes  you  look  so  little  the  day  *?  " 

"  I  am  not  looking  little,"  she  replied,  greatly 
annoyed,  "  I  am  looking  taller  than  usual.  I  have 
let  down  my  frock  three  inches  so  as  to  look  taller 
• — and  older." 

"  You  look  younger  than  ever,"  he  said  cruelly. 

"  I  don't !  I  look  fifteen,  and  when  you  are  fif- 
teen you  grow  up  very  quickly.  Do  say  I  look 
older !  "  she  entreated  anxiously.  "  It  would  make 
me  feel  more  respectable." 

But  he  shook  his  head  with  surprising  obstinacy, 
and  then  she  began  to  remark  on  his  clothes,  which 
had  been  exercising  her  curiosity  ever  since  they 
left  the  Den. 

"  How  is  it  that  you  are  looking  so  stout  *?  "  she 
asked.  "  I  feel  cold,  but  you  are  wiping  the  sweat 
off  your  face  every  minute." 

421 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

it  was  true,  but  he  would  have  preferred  not  to 
Answer.  Grizel's  questions,  however,  were  all  so 
straight  in  the  face  that  there  was  no  dodging  them. 
"  I  have  on  twa  suits  o'  clothes,  and  a'  my  sarks/ 
he  had  to  admit,  sticky  and  sullen. 

She  stopped,  but  he  trudged  on  doggedly.  She 
ran  after  him  and  gave  his  arm  an  impulsive  squeeze 
with  both  hands.  "  Oh,  you  sweet ! "  she  said. 

"  No,  I'm  not,"  he  answered  in  alarm. 

"Yes  you  are !     You  are  coming  with  me." 

"  I'm  not ! " 

"  Then  why  did  you  put  on  so  many  clothes  ?  " 

Tommy  swithered  wretchedly  on  one  foot.  "  I 
didna  put  them  on  to  come  wij  you,"  he  explained, 
"  I  just  put  them  on  in  case  I  should  come  wi' 
you." 

"  And  you  are  not  coming  ?  " 

"  How  can  I  ken  ?  " 

"  But  you  must  decide ! "  Grizel  almost  screamed. 

"  I  needna,"  he  stammered,  "  till  we're  at  Tillie- 
drum.  Let's  speak  about  some  other  thing." 

She  rocked  her  arms,  crying,  "  It  is  so  easy  to 
make  up  one's  mind." 

"  It's  easy  to  you  that  has  just  one  mind,"  he  re- 
torted with  spirit,  "  but  if  you  had  as  many  minds 
as  I  have ! " 

On  they  went 


422 


CHAPTER   XXXIII 

iHERE  IS  SOMEONE  TO   LOVE  GRIZEL  AT  LAST 

CORP  was  sitting  on  the  Monypenny  dyke,  spitting 
on  a  candlestick  and  then  rubbing  it  briskly  against 
his  orange-coloured  trousers.  The  doctor  passing 
in  his  gig,  both  of  them  streaked,  till  they  blended, 
with  the  mud  of  Look-about-you  road  (through 
which  you  should  drive  winking  rapidly  all  the 
way),  saw  him  and  drew  up. 

"Well,  how  is  Grizel  ? "  he  asked.  He  had 
avoided  Double  Dykes  since  the  funeral,  but  vain 
had  been  his  attempts  to  turn  its  little  inmate  out 
of  his  mind;  there  she  was,  against  his  will,  and 
there,  he  now  admitted  to  himself  angrily,  or  with 
a  rueful  sigh,  she  seemed  likely  to  remain  until 
someone  gave  her  a  home.  It  was  an  almost 
ludicrous  distrust  of  himself  that  kept  him  away 
from  her;  he  feared  that  if  he  went  to  Double 
Dykes  her  lonely  face  would  complete  his  con- 
quest. For  —  oh,  he  was  reluctant  to  be  got  the 
better  of,  as  he  expressed  it  to  himself.  Maggy 
Ann,  his  maid,  was  the  ideal  woman  for  a  bachelor's 
house.  When  she  saw  him  coming  she  fled,  guilt- 

423 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

ily  concealing  the  hated  duster;  when  he  roared 
at  her  for  announcing  that  dinner  was  ready,  she 
left  him  to  eat  it  half  cold ;  when  he  spilled 
matches  on  the  floor  and  then  stepped  upon  them 
and  set  the  rug  on  fire,  she  let  him  tell  her  that 
she  should  be  more  careful ;  she  did  not  carry  off 
his  favourite  boots  to  the  cobbler  because  they 
were  down  at  heel ;  she  did  not  fling  up  her  arms 
in  horror  and  cry  that  she  had  brushed  that  coat 
just  five  minutes  ago ;  nor  did  she  count  the 
treasured  "  dottels "  on  the  mantelpiece  to  dis- 
cover how  many  pipes  he  had  smoked  since 
morning;  nor  point  out  that  he  had  stepped  over 
the  door-mat;  nor  line  her  shelves  with  the  new 
Mentor;  nor  giving  him  up  his  foot  for  sitting  half 
the  night  with  patients  who  could  not  pay  —  in 
short,  he  knew  the  ways  of  the  limmers,  and  Maggy 
Ann  was  a  jewel.  But  it  had  taken  him  a  dozen 
years  to  bring  her  to  this  perfection,  and  well  he 
knew  that  the  curse  of  Eve,  as  he  called  the  rage 
for  the  duster,  slumbered  in  her  rather  than  was  ex- 
tinguished. With  the  volcanic  Grizel  in  the  house, 
Maggy  Ann  would  once  more  burst  into  flame,  and 
the  horrified  doctor  looked  to  right  of  him,  to  left 
of  him,  before  him  and  behind  him,  and  everywhere 
he  seemed  to  see  two  new  brooms  bearing  down. 
No,  the  brat,  he  would  not  have  her ;  the  besom ; 
why  did  she  bother  him ;  the  witches  take  her,  for 
putting  the  idea  into  his  head,  nailing  it  into  his 

424 


SOMEONE   TO   LOVE  GRIZEL 

head,  indeed  !  But  nevertheless  he  was  for  ever 
urging  other  people  to  adopt  her,  assuring  them 
that  they  would  find  her  a  treasure,  and  even  shak- 
ing his  staff  at.  them  when  they  refused;  and  he 
was  so  uneasy  if  he  did  not  hear  of  her  several 
times  a  day  that  he  made  Monypenny  the  way  to 
and  from  everywhere,  so  that  he  might  drop  into 
artful  talk  with  those  who  had  seen  her  last.  Corp, 
accordingly,  was  not  surprised  at  his  "  How  is 
Grizel  ?  "  now,  and  he  answered,  between  two  spits. 
"  She's  fine  ;  she  gave  me  this." 

It  was  one  of  the  Painted  Lady's  silver  candle- 
sticks, and  the  doctor  asked  sharply  why  Grizel 
had  given  it  to  him. 

"  She  said  because  she  liked  me,"  Corp  replied, 
wonderingly.  "She  brought  it  to  my  auntie's 
door  soon  after  I  loused,  and  put  it  into  my  hand ; 
ay,  and  she  had  a  blue  shawl,  and  she  telled  me 
to  give  it  to  Gavinia,  because  she  liked  her  too." 

"  What  else  did  she  say  ?  " 

Corp  tried  to  think.  "I  said,  'This  cows, 
Grizel,  but  thank  you  kindly,'  "  he  answered,  much 
pleased  with  his  effort  of  memory,  but  the  doctor 
interrupted  him  rudely.  "  Nobody  wants  to  hear 
what  you  said,  you  dottrel;  what  more  did  she 
say  ?  "  And  thus  encouraged,  Corp  remembered 
that  she  had  said  she  hoped  he  would  not  forget 
her.  "  What  for  should  I  forget  her  when  I  see 
her  ilka  day  ?  "  he  asked,  and  was  probably  about 

425 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

to  divulge  that  this  was  his  reply  to  her,  but  with- 
out waiting  for  more,  McQueen  turned  his  beast's 
head  and  drove  to  the  entrance  to  the  double  dykes. 
Here  he  alighted  and  hastened  up  the  path  on 
foot,  but  before  he  reached  the  house  he  met  Dite 
Deuchars  taking  his  ease  beneath  a  tree,  and  Dite 
could  tell  him  that  Grizel  was  not  at  home.  "  But 
there's  somebody  in  Double  Dykes,"  he  said, 
"  though  I  kenna  wha  could  be  there  unless  it's  the 
ghost  of  the  Painted  Lady  hersel'.  About  an  hour 
syne  I  saw  Grizel  come  out  oj  the  house,  carrying 
a  bundle,  but  she  hadna  gone  many  yards  when 
she  turned  round  and  waved  her  hand  to  the  east 
window.  I  couldna  see  wha  was  at  it,  but  there 
maun  have  been  somebody,  for  first  the  crittur 
waved  to  the  window  and  next  she  kissed  her 
hand  to  it,  and  syne  she  went  on  a  bit,  and  syne 
she  ran  back  close  to  the  window  and  nodded 
and  flung  more  kisses,  and  back  and  forrit  she 
went  a  curran  times  as  if  she  could  hardly  tear 
hersel'  awa'.  '  Wha's  that  you're  so  chief  wi'  ? '  I 
speired  when  she  came  by  me  at  last,  but  she  just 
said,  '  I  won't  tell  you,'  in  her  dour  wy,  and  she 
hasna  come  back  yet." 

Whom  could  she  have  been  saying  good-bye  to 
so  demonstratively,  and  whither  had  she  gone  *? 
With  a  curiosity  that  for  the  moment  took  the 
place  of  his  uneasiness,  McQueen  proceeded  to  the 
house,  the  door  of  which  was  shut  but  not  locked. 

426 


SOMEONE  TO   LOVE  GRIZEL 

Two  glances  convinced  him  that  there  was  no  one 
here ;  the  kitchen  was  as  he  had  seen  it  last,  ex- 
cept that  the  long  mirror  had  been  placed  on  a 
chair  close  to  the  east  window.  The  doctor  went 
to  the  outside  of  the  window  and  looked  in;  he 
could  see  nothing  but  his  own  reflection  in  the 
mirror,  and  was  completely  puzzled.  But  it  was 
no  time,  he  felt,  for  standing  there  scratching  his 
head,  when  there  was  reason  to  fear  that  the  girl 
had  gone.  Gone  where  ?  He  saw  his  selfishness 
now,  in  a  glaring  light,  and  it  fled  out  of  him  pur- 
sued by  curses. 

He  stopped  at  Aaron's  door  and  called  for 
Tommy,  but  Tommy  had  left  the  house  an  hour 
ago.  "Gone  with  her,  the  sacket;  he  very  likely 
put  her  up  to  this,"  the  doctor  muttered,  and  the 
surmise  seemed  justified  when  he  heard  that  Grizel 
and  Tommy  had  been  seen  passing  the  Fens.  That 
they  were  running  away  had  never  struck  those 
who  saw  them,  and  McQueen  said  nothing  of  his 
suspicions,  but  off  he  went  in  his  gig  on  their 
track  and  ran  them  down  within  a  mile  of  Tillie- 
drum.  Grizel  scurried  on,  thinking  it  was  un- 
doubtedly her  father,  but  in  a  few  minutes  the 
three  were  conversing  almost  amicably,  the  doc- 
tor's first  words  had  been  so  "  sweet." 

Tommy  explained  that  they  were  out  for  a 
walk,  but  Grizel  could  not  lie,  and  in  a  few  pas- 
sionate sentences  she  told  McQueen  the  truth.  He 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

had  guessed  the  greater  part  of  it,  and  while  she 
spoke  he  looked  so  sorry  for  her,  such  a  sweet 
change  had  come  over  his  manner,  that  she  held 
his  hand. 

"  But  you  must  go  no  farther,"  he  told  her,  "  I 
am  to  take  you  back  with  me,"  and  that  alarmed 
her.  "  I  won't  go  back,"  she  said  determinedly, 
"  he  might  come." 

"  There's  little  fear  of  his  coming,"  McQueen 
assured  her,  gently,  "  but  if  he  does  come  I  give 
you  my  solemn  word  that  I  won't  let  him  take 
you  away  unless  you  want  to  go." 

Even  then  she  only  wavered,  but  he  got  her 
altogether  with  this :  "  And  should  he  come,  just 
think  what  a  piece  of  your  mind  you  could  give 
him,  with  me  standing  by  holding  your  hand." 

"  Oh,  would  you  do  that  ?  "  she  asked,  bright- 
ening. 

"  I  would  do  a  good  deal  to  get  the  chance,"  he 
said. 

"  I  should  just  love  it !  "  she  cried.  "  I  shall 
come  now,"  and  she  stepped  light-heartedly  into 
the  gig,  where  the  doctor  joined  her.  Tommy, 
who  had  been  in  the  background  all  this  time, 
was  about  to  jump  up  beside  them,  but  McQueen 
waved  him  back,  saying  maliciously,  "There's 
just  room  for  two,  my  man,  so  I  won't  interfere 
with  your  walk." 

Tommy,  in  danger  of  being  left,  very  hot  and 
428 


SOMEONE   TO   LOVE  GRIZEL 

stout  and  sulky,  whimpered,  "What  have  I  done 
to  anger  you  ?  " 

"You  were  going  with  her,  you  blackguard,'* 
replied  McQueen,  not  yet  in  full  possession  of  the 
facts,  for  whether  Tommy  was  or  was  not  going 
with  her  no  one  can  ever  know. 

"  If  I  was,"  cried  the  injured  boy,  "  it  wasna  be- 
cause I  wanted  to  go,  it  was  because  it  wouldna 
have  been  respectable  for  her  to  go  by  herselV 

The  doctor  had  already  started  his  shalt,  but  at 
these  astonishing  words  he  drew  up  sharply.  "  Say 
that  again,"  he  said,  as  if  thinking  that  his  ears 
must  have  deceived  him,  and  Tommy  repeated 
his  remark,  wondering  at  its  effect. 

"And  you  tell  me  that  you  were  going  with 
her,"  the  doctor  repeated,  "  to  make  her  enterprise 
more  respectable  ?  "  and  he  looked  from  one  to 
the  other. 

"  Of  course  I  was,"  replied  Tommy,  resenting 
his  surprise  at  a  thing  so  obvious;  and  "That's 
why  I  wanted  him  to  come,"  chimed  in  Grizel. 

Still  McQueen's  glance  wandered  from  the  boy 
to  the  girl,  and  from  the  girl  to  the  boy.  "  You 
are  a  pair!"  he  said  at  last,  and  he  signed  in 
silence  to  Tommy  to  mount  the  gig.  But  his 
manner  had  alarmed  Grizel,  ever  watching  herself 
lest  she  should  stray  into  the  ways  of  bad  ones, 
and  she  asked  anxiously,  "There  was  nothing 
wrong  in  it,  was  there  *?  " 

429 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"No,"  the  doctor  answered  gravely,  laying  his 
hand  on  hers,  "  no,  it  was  just  sweet." 

What  McQueen  had  to  say  to  her  was  not  for 
Tommy's  ears,  and  the  conversation  was  but  a  make- 
shift until  they  reached  Thrums,  where  he  sent  the 
boy  home,  recommending  him  to  hold  his  tongue 
about  the  escapade  (and  Tommy  of  course  saw  the 
advisability  ol  keeping  it  from  Elspeth) ;  but  he 
took  Grizel  into  his  parlour  and  set  her  down  on 
the  buffet  stool  by  the  fire,  where  he  surveyed  her  in 
silence  at  his  leisure.  Then  he  tried  her  in  his  old 
armchair,  then  on  his  sofa ;  then  he  put  the  Mentor 
into  her  hand,  and  told  her  to  hold  it  as  if  it  were 
a  duster,  then  he  sent  her  into  the  passage,  with  in- 
structions to  open  the  door  presently  and  announce 
"  Dinner  is  ready  " ;  then  he  told  her  to  put  some 
coals  on  the  fire ;  then  he  told  her  to  sit  at  the  win- 
dow, first  with  an  open  book  in  her  hand,  secondly 
as  if  she  was  busy  knitting;  and  all  these  things 
she  did  wondering  exceedingly,  for  he  gave  no 
explanation  except  the  incomprehensible  one,  "  I 
want  to  see  what  it  would  be  like." 

She  had  told  him  in  the  gig  why  she  had 
changed  the  position  of  the  mirror  at  Double 
Dykes ;  it  was  to  let  "  that  darling  "  wave  good- 
bye to  her  from  the  window;  and  now  having 
experimented  with  her  in  his  parlour,  he  drew  her 
toward  his  chair,  so  that  she  stood  between  his 

410 


SOMEONE   TO   LOVE  GRIZEL 

knees.     And  he  asked  her  if  she  understood  why 
he  had  gone  to  Double  Dykes. 

"  Was  it  to  get  me  to  tell  you  what  were  the 
names  in  the  letter?"  she  said  wistfully.  "  That 
is  what  everyone  asks  me,  but  I  won't  tell  —  no, 
I  won't ; "  and  she  closed  her  mouth  hard. 

He,  too,  would  have  liked  to  hear  the  names, 
and  he  sighed,  it  must  be  admitted,  at  sight  of  that 
determined  mouth,  but  he  could  say  truthfully, 
"  Your  refusal  to  break  your  promise  is  one  of  the 
things  that  I  admire  in  you." 

Admire!  Grizel  could  scarce  believe  that  this 
gift  was  for  her.  "  You  don't  mean  that  you  really 
like  me  ?  "  she  faltered,  but  she  felt  sure  all  the 
time  that  he  did,  and  she  cried,  "  Oh,  but  why  *? 
oh,  how  can  you  ?  " 

"  For  one  reason,"  he  said,  "  because  you  are  so 
good." 

"  Good !  Oh !  oh !  oh ! "  She  clapped  her  hands 
joyously. 

"  And,  for  another  —  because  you  are  so  brave." 

"  But  I  am  not  really  brave,"  she  said  anxiously, 
yet  resolved  to  hide  nothing;  "I  only  pretend  to 
be  brave;  I  am  often  frightened,  but  I  just  don't 
let  on." 

That,  he  told  her,  is  the  highest  form  of  bravery, 
but  Grizel  was  very,  very  tired  of  being  brave,  and 
she  insisted  impetuously,  "  I  don't  want  to  be  brave, 
I  want  to  be  afraid,  like  other  girls." 

431 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

"  Ay,  it's  your  right,  you  little  woman,"  he  at* 
swered  tenderly ;  and  then  again  he  became  mys- 
terious. He  kicked  off  his  shoes  to  show  her  that  he 
was  wearing  socks  that  did  not  match.  "  I  just  pull 
on  the  first  that  come  to  hand,"  he  said  recklessly. 

"  Oh !  "  cried  Grizel. 

On  his  dusty  book-shelves  he  wrote,  with  his 
finger,  "  Not  dusted  since  the  year  One." 

"  Oh !  oh !  "  she  cried. 

,He  put  his  fingers  through  his  gray,  untidy  hair. 
"  That's  the  only  comb  I  have  that  is  at  hand  when 
I  want  it,"  he  went  on,  regardless  of  her  agony. 

"  All  the  stud-holes  in  my  shirts,"  he  said,  "  are 
now  so  frayed  and  large  that  the  studs  fall  out,  and 
I  find  them  in  my  socks  at  night." 

Oh!  oh!  he  was  killing  her,  he  was,  but  what 
cared  he  ?  "  Look  at  my  clothes,"  said  the  cruel 
man,  "  I  read  when  I'm  eating,  and  I  spill  so  much 
gravy  that  —  that  we  boil  my  waistcoat  once  a 
month,  and  make  soup  of  it ! " 

To  Grizel  this  was  the  most  tragic  picture  ever 
drawn  by  man,  and  he  saw  that  it  was  time  to  de- 
sist. "  And  it's  all,"  he  said,  looking  at  her  sadly, 
"it's  all  because  I'm  a  lonely  old  bachelor  with 
no  womankind  to  look  after  him,  no  little  girl  to 
brighten  him  when  he  comes  home  dog-tired,  no 
one  to  care  whether  his  socks  are  in  holes  and  his 
comb  behind  the  wash-stand,  no  soft  hand  to  soothe 
his  brow  when  it  aches,  no  one  to  work  for,  no  one 


SOMEONE   TO   LOVE  GRIZEL 

to  love,  many  a  one  to  close  the  old  bachelor's  eyes 
when  he  dies,  but  none  to  drop  a  tear  for  him,  no 
one  to " 

"  Oh !  oh  !  oh !  That  is  just  like  me.  Oh !  oh ! " 
cried  Grizel,  and  he  pulled  her  closer  to  him,  say- 
ing, "  The  more  reason  we  should  join  thegither ; 
Grtzel,  if  you  don't  take  pity  on  me,  and  come  and 
bide  with  me  and  be  my  little  housekeeper,  the 
Lord  Almighty  only  knows  what  is  to  become  of 
the  old  doctor." 

At  this  she  broke  away  from  him,  and  stood  far 
back  pressing  her  arms  to  her  sides,  and  she  cried, 
"  It  is  not  out  of  charity  you  ask  me,  is  it  ?  "  and 
then  she  went  a  little  nearer.  "  You  would  not 
say  it  if  it  wasn't  true,  would  you  *?  " 

"  No,  my  dawtie,  it's  true,"  he  told  her,  and  if 
he  had  been  pitying  himself  a  little,  there  was  an 
end  of  that  now. 

She  remembered  something  and  cried  joyously, 
"  And  you  knew  what  was  in  my  blood  before  you 
asked  me,  so  I  don't  need  to  tell  you,  do  I  ?  And 
you  are  not  afraid  that  I  shall  corrupt  you,  are 
you  ?  And  you  don't  think  it  a  pity  I  didn't  die 
when  I  was  a  tiny  baby,  do  you  ?  Some  people 
think  so  —  I  heard  them  say  it." 

"  What  would  have  become  of  me  ?  "  was  all  he 
dared  answer  in  words,  but  he  drew  her  to  him 
again,  and  when  she  asked  if  it  was  true,  as  she 
had  heard  some  woman  say,  that  in  some  matters 

433 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

men  were  all  alike  and  did  what  that  one  man  had 
done  to  her  mamma,  he  could  reply  solemnly,  "No, 
it  is  not  true ;  it's  a  lie  that  has  done  more  harm 
than  any  war  in  any  century." 

She  sat  on  his  knee,  telling  him  many  things 
that  had  come  recently  to  her  knowledge  but  were 
not  so  new  to  him.  The  fall  of  woman  was  the 
subject  —  a  strange  topic  for  a  girl  of  thirteen  and 
a  man  of  sixty.  They  don't  become  wicked  in 
a  moment,  he  learned ;  if  they  are  good  to  begin 
with,  it  takes  quite  a  long  time  to  make  them  bad. 
Her  mamma  was  good  to  begin  with.  "  I  know  she 
was  good,  because  when  she  thought  she  was  the 
girl  she  used  to  be,  she  looked  sweet  and  said 
lovely  things.  The  way  the  men  do  is  this :  they 
put  evil  thoughts  into  the  woman's  head,  and  say 
them  often  to  her,  till  she  gets  accustomed  to  them, 
and  thinks  they  cannot  be  bad  when  the  man  she 
loves  likes  them,  and  it  is  called  corrupting  the 
mind. 

"  And  then  a  baby  comes  to  them,"  Grizel  said 
softly,  "and  it  is  called  a  child  of  shame.  I  am  a 
child  of  shame." 

He  made  no  reply,  so  she  looked  up,  and  his 
face  was  very  old  and  sad.  "I  am  sorry  too," 
she  whispered,  but  still  he  said  nothing,  and  then 
she  put  her  fingers  on  his  eyes  to  discover  if  they 
were  wet,  and  they  were  wet.  And  so  Grizel  knew 
that  there  was  someone  who  loved  her  at  last 

434 


SOMEONE   TO   LOVE  GRIZEL 

The  mirror  was  the  only  article  of  value  that 
Grizel  took  with  her  to  her  new  home;  everything 
else  was  rouped  at  the  door  of  Double  Dykes; 
Tommy,  who  should  have  been  at  his  books,  act- 
ing as  auctioneer's  clerk  for  sixpence.  There  are 
houses  in  Thrums  where  you  may  still  be  told 
who  got  the  bed  and  who  the  rocking-chair,  and 
how  Nether  Drumgley's  wife  dared  him  to  come 
home  without  the  spinet ;  but  it  is  not  by  the  sales 
that  the  roup  is  best  remembered.  Curiosity  took 
many  persons  into  Double  Dykes  that  day,  and  in 
the  room  that  had  never  been  furnished  they  saw 
a  mournful  stack  of  empty  brandy  bottles,  piled 
there  by  the  auctioneer,  who  had  found  them  in 
every  corner,  beneath  the  bed,  in  presses,  in  boxes, 
whither  they  had  been  thrust  by  Grizel's  mamma, 
as  if  to  conceal  their  number  from  herself.  The 
counting  of  these  bottles  was  a  labour,  but  it  is 
not  even  by  them  that  the  roup  is  remembered. 
Among  them  some  sacrilegious  hands  found  a 
bundle  of  papers  with  a  sad  blue  ribbon  round 
them.  They  were  the  Painted  Lady's  love-letters, 
the  letters  she  had  written  to  the  man.  Why  or 
how  they  had  come  back  to  her  no  one  knew. 

Most  of  them  were  given  to  Grizel,  but  a  dozen 
or  more  passed  without  her  leave  into  the  kists  of 
various  people,  where  often  since  then  they  have 
been  consulted  by  swains  in  need  of  a  pretty 
phrase;  and  Tommy's  schoolfellows,  the  very  boys 

435 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

and  girls  who  hooted  the  Painted  Lady,  were 
in  time  —  so  oddly  do  things  turn  out  —  to  be 
among  those  whom  her  letters  taught  how  to  woo. 
Where  the  kists  did  not  let  in  the  damp  or  care- 
less fingers,  the  paper  long  remained  clean,  the  ink 
but  little  faded.  Some  of  the  letters  were  creased, 
as  if  they  had  been  much  folded,  perhaps  for  slip- 
ping into  secret  hiding-places,  but  none  of  them 
bore  any  address  or  a  date.  "  To  my  beloved," 
was  sometimes  written  on  the  cover,  and  inside  he 
was  darling  or  beloved  again.  So  no  one  could 
have  arranged  them  in  the  order  in  which  they 
were  written,  though  there  was  a  three-cornered 
one  which  said  it  was  the  first.  There  was  a  violet 
in  it,  clinging  to  the  paper  as  if  they  were  fond 
of  each  other,  and  Grizel's  mamma  had  written, 
"  The  violet  is  me,  hiding  in  a  corner  because  I 
am  so  happy."  The  letters  were  in  many  moods, 
playful,  reflective,  sad,  despairing,  arch,  but  all 
were  written  in  an  ecstasy  of  the  purest  love,  and 
most  of  them  were  cheerful,  so  that  you  seemed  to 
see  the  sun  dancing  on  the  paper  while  she  wrote, 
the  same  sun  that  afterwards  showed  up  her  painted 
cheeks.  Why  they  came  back  to  her  no  one  ever 
discovered,  any  more  than  how  she  who  slipped 
the  violet  into  that  three-cornered  one  and  took 
it  out  to  kiss  again  and  wrote,  "It  is  my  first  love- 
letter,  and  I  love  it  so  much  I  am  reluctant  to  let 
it  go,"  became  in  a  few  years  the  derision  of  the 

436 


SOMEONE   TO    LOVE  G1\IZEL 

Double  Dykes.  Some  of  these  letters  may  be  in 
old  kists  still,  but  whether  that  is  so  or  not,  they 
alone  have  passed  the  Painted  Lady's  memory 
from  one  generation  to  another,  and  they  have 
purified  it,  so  that  what  she  was  died  with  her  vile 
body,  and  what  she  might  have  been  lived  on,  as 
if  it  were  her  true  self. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

WHO  TOLD  TOMMY  TO   SPEAK? 

Miss  ALISON  CRAY  presents  her  compliments  to 
-  and  requests  the  favour  of  their  company  at 
her  marriage  with  Mr.  Ivie  McLean,  on  January 
8th,  at  six  o'clock." 

Tommy  in  his  Sabbath  clothes,  with  a  rose  from 
the  Dovecot  hothouse  for  buttonhole  (which  he 
slipped  into  his  pocket  when  he  saw  other  boys 
approaching),  delivered  them  at  the  doors  of  the 
aristocracy,  where,  by  the  way,  he  had  been  a  few 
weeks  earlier,  with  another  circular : 

"Miss  Alison  Cray,  being  about  to  give  up 
school,  has  pleasure  in  stating  that  she  has  dis- 
posed of  the  goodwill  of  her  establishment  to  Miss 
Jessy  Langlands  and  Miss  S.  Oram,  who  will  enter 
upon  their  scholastic  duties  on  January  gth,  at 
Roods  Cottage,  where  she  most  cordially,"  and 
so  on. 

Here  if  the  writer  dared  (but  you  would  be  so 
angry)  he  would  introduce  at  the  length  of  a 
chapter  two  brand-new  characters,  the  Misses 
Langlands  and  Oram,  who  suddenly  present  them- 

438 


WHO   TOLD   TOMMY    TO   SPEAK? 

selves  to  htm  in  the  most  sympathetic  light.  Mi 
Ailie  had  been  safely  stowed  to  port,  but  their  little 
boat  is  only  setting  sail,  and  they  are  such  youn<; 
ones,  neither  out  of  her  teens,  that  he  would  fain 
turn  for  a  time  from  her  to  them.  Twelve  pounds 
they  paid  for  the  goodwill,  and,  oh,  the  exciting 
discussions,  oh,  the  scraping  to  get  the  money  to- 
gether !  If  little  Miss  Langlands  had  not  been  so 
bold,  big  Miss  Oram  must  have  drawn  back,  but 
if  Miss  Oram  had  not  had  that  idea  about  a  paper 
partition,  of  what  avail  the  boldness  of  Miss  Lang- 
lands  *?  How  these  two  trumps  of  girls  succeeded 
in  hiring  the  Painted  Lady's  spinet  from  Nether 
Drumgley  —  in  the  absence  of  his  wife,  who  on  her 
way  home  from  buying  a  Cochin-china  met  the 
spinet  in  a  cart  —  how  the  mother  of  one  of  them, 
realising  in  a  klink  that  she  was  common  no  more, 
henceforth  wore  black  caps  instead  of  mutches 
(but  the  father  dandered  on  in  the  old  plebeian 
way) ;  what  the  enterprise  meant  to  a  young  man 
in  distant  Newcastle,  whose  favourite  name  was 
Jessy  ;  how  the  news  travelled  to  still  more  distant 
Canada,  where  a  family  of  emigrants  which  had 
left  its  Sarah  behind  in  Thrums,  could  talk  of 
nothing  else  for  weeks  —  it  is  hard  to  have  to  pass 
on  without  dwelling  on  these  things,  and  indeed 
—  but  pass  on  we  must. 

The  chief  figure  at  the  wedding  of  Miss  Ailie 
was  undoubtedly  Mr.  T.  Sandys.     When  one  re- 

439 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

members  his  prominence,  it  is  difficult  to  think 
that  the  wedding  could  have  taken  place  without 
him.  It  was  he  (in  his  Sabbath  clothes  again,  and 
now  flaunting  his  buttonhole  brazenly)  who  in  in- 
sulting language  ordered  the  rabble  to  stand  back 
there.  It  was  he  who  dashed  out  to  the  'Sosh  to 
get  a  hundred  ha'pennies  for  the  fifty  pennies  Mr. 
McLean  had  brought  to  toss  into  the  air.  It  was 
he  who  went  round  in  the  carriage  to  pick  up  the 
guests,  and  whisked  them  in  and  out,  and  slammed 
the  door,  and  saw  to  it  that  the  minister  was  not 
kept  waiting,  and  warned  Miss  Ailie  that  if  she 
did  not  come  now  they  should  begin  without  her. 
It  was  he  who  stood  near  her  with  a  handkerchief 
ready  in  his  hand  lest  she  took  to  crying  on  her 
new  brown  silk  (Miss  Ailie  was  married  in  brown 
silk  after  all).  As  a  crown  to  his  audacity,  it  was 
he  who  told  Mr.  Dishart,  in  the  middle  of  a  noble 
passage,  to  mind  the  lamp. 

These  duties  were  Dr.  McQueen's,  the  best  man, 
but  either  demoralized  by  the  bridegroom,  who 
went  all  to  pieces  at  the  critical  moment  and  was 
much  more  nervous  than  the  bride,  or  in  terror  lest 
Grizel,  who  had  sent  him  to  the  wedding  speckless 
and  most  beautifully  starched,  should  suddenly  ap- 
pear at  the  door  and  cry,  "  Oh,  oh,  take  your  fin- 
gers off  your  shirt !  "  he  was  through  other  till  the 
knot  was  tied,  and  then  it  was  too  late,  for  Tommy 
had  made  his  mark.  It  was  Tommy  who  led  the 

440 


WHO    TOLD   TOMMY    TO   SPEAK? 

way  to  the  schoolroom  where  the  feast  was  ready, 
it  was  Tommy  who  put  the  guests  in  their  pi 
(even  the  banker  cringed  to  him),  it  was  Tommy 
who  winked  to  Mr.  Dishart  to  say  grace.  As  you 
will  readily  believe,  Miss  Ailie  could  not  endure 
the  thought  of  excluding  her  pupils  from  the  fes- 
tivities, and  they  began  to  arrive  as  soon  as  the 
tables  had  been  cleared  of  all  save  oranges  and 
tarts  and  raisins.  Tommy,  waving  Gavinia  aside, 
showed  them  in,  and  one  of  them,  curious  to  tell, 
was  Corp,  in  borrowed  blacks,  and  Tommy  shook 
hands  with  him  and  called  him  Mr.  Shiach,  both 
new  experiences  to  Corp,  who  knocked  over  a 
table  in  his  anxiety  to  behave  himself,  and  roared 
at  intervals  "  Do  you  see  the  little  deevil !  "  and  bit 
his  warts  and  then  politely  swallowed  the  blood. 

As  if  oranges  and  tarts  and  raisins  were  not 
enough,  came  the  Punch  and  Judy  show,  Tommy's 
culminating  triumph.  All  the  way  to  Redlintie 
had  Mr.  McLean  sent  for  the  Punch  and  Judy 
show,  and  nevertheless  there  was  a  probability  of 
no  performance,  for  Miss  Ailie  considered  the  show 
immoral.  Most  anxious  was  she  to  give  pleasure 
to  her  pupils,  and  this  she  knew  was  the  best  way, 
but  how  could  she  countenance  an  entertainment 
which  was  an  encouragement  to  every  form  of  vice 
and  crime  *?  To  send  these  children  to  the  Misses 
Langlands  and  Oram,  fresh  from  an  introduction 
to  the  comic  view  of  murder !  It  could  not  be 

441 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

done,  now  could  it  ?  Mr.  McLean  could  make  no 
suggestion.  Mr.  Dishart  thought  it  would  be  ad- 
visable to  substitute  another  entertainment ;  was 
there  not  a  game  called  "  The  Minister's  Cat "  ? 
Mis.  Dishart  thought  they  should  have  the  show 
and  risk  the  consequences.  So  also  thought  Dr. 
McQueen.  The  banker  was  consulted,  but  saw  no 
way  out  of  the  difficulty,  nor  did  the  lawyer,  nor 
did  the  Misses  Finlayson.  Then  Tommy  appeared 
on  the  scene,  and  presently  retired  to  find  a  way. 
He  found  it.  The  performance  took  place,  and 
none  of  the  fun  was  omitted,  yet  neither  Miss 
Ailie  —  tuts,  tuts,  Mrs.  McLean  —  nor  Mr.  Dishart 
could  disapprove.  Punch  did  chuck  his  baby  out 
at  the  window  (roars  of  laughter)  in  his  jovial, 
time-honoured  way,  but  immediately  thereafter  up 
popped  the  showman  to  say,  "  Ah,  my  dear  boys 
and  girls,  let  this  be  a  lesson  to  you  never  to  de- 
stroy your  offsprings.  Oh,  shame  on  Punch,  for  to 
do  the  wicked  deed ;  he  will  be  catched  in  the  end, 
and  serve  him  right."  Then  when  Mr.  Punch  had 
walloped  his  wife  with  the  stick,  amid  thunders  of 
applause,  up  again  bobbed  the  showman:  "Ah, 
my  dear  boys  and  girls,  what  a  lesson  is  this  we 
sees,  what  goings  on  is  this  ?  He  have  bashed  the 
head  of  her  as  should  ha?  been  the  apple  of  his  eye, 
and  he  does  not  care  a  —  he  does  not  care ;  but 
mark  my  words,  his  home  it  will  now  be  desolate, 
no  more  shall  she  meet  him  at  his  door  with  kindly 

/L12 


WHO   TOLD   TOMMY   TO   SPEAK? 

smile,  he  have  done  for  her  quite,  and  now  he  is  ;i 
hunted  man.  Oh,  be  warned  by  his  sad  igsamplr, 
and  do  not  bash  the  head  of  your  loving  wife." 
And  there  was  a  great  deal  more  of  the  same,  and 
simple  Mrs.  McLean  almost  wept  tears  of  joy  be- 
cause her  favourite's  good  heart  had  suggested  these 
improvements. 

Grizel  was  not  at  the  wedding;  she  was  invited, 
but  could  not  go  because  she  was  in  mourning. 
But  only  her  parramatty  frock  was  in  mourning, 
for  already  she  had  been  the  doctor's  housekeeper 
for  two  full  months,  and  her  father  had  not  ap- 
peared to  plague  her  (he  never  did  appear,  it  may  be 
told  at  once),  and  so  how  could  her  face  be  woful 
when  her  heart  leapt  with  gladness  ?  Never  had 
prisoner  pined  for  the  fields  more  than  this  reticent 
girl  to  be  frank,  and  she  poured  out  her  inmost  self 
to  the  doctor,  so  that  daily  he  discovered  something 
beautiful  (and  exasperating)  about  womanhood. 
And  it  was  his  love  for  her  that  had  changed  her. 
"  You  do  love  me,  don't  you  *?  "  she  would  say, 
and  his  answer  might  be,  "  I  have  told  you  that 
fifty  times  already;"  to  which  she  would  reply 
gleefully,  "  That  is  not  often,  I  say  it  all  day  to 
myself." 

Exasperating?  Yes,  that  was  the  word.  Long 
before  summer  came,  the  doctor  knew  that  he  had 
given  himself  into  the  hands  of  a  tyrant.  It  was 
idle  his  saying  that  this  irregularity  and  that  care- 

443 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

lessness  were  habits  that  had  become  part  of  him ; 
she  only  rocked  her  arms  impatiently,  and  if  he 
would  not  stand  still  to  be  put  to  rights,  then  she 
would  follow  him  along  the  street,  brushing  him 
as  he  walked,  a  sight  that  was  witnessed  several 
times  while  he  was  in  the  mutinous  stage. 

"  Talk  about  masterfulness,"  he  would  say, 
when  she  whipped  off  his  coat  or  made  a  dart  at 
the  mud  on  his  trousers;  "you  are  the  most  mas- 
terful little  besom  I  ever  clapped  eyes  on." 

But  as  he  said  it  he  perhaps  crossed  his  legs, 
and  she  immediately  cried,  "  You  have  missed 
two  holes  in  lacing  your  boots ! " 

Of  a  morning  he  would  ask  her  sarcastically  to 
examine  him  from  top  to  toe  and  see  if  he  would 
do,  and  examine  him  she  did,  turning  him  round, 
pointing  out  that  he  had  been  sitting  "  again  5?  on 
his  tails,  that  oh,  oh,  he  must  have  cut  that  but- 
tonhole with  his  knife.  He  became  most  artful  in 
hiding  deficiencies  from  her,  but  her  suspicions 
once  roused  would  not  sleep,  and  all  subterfuge 
was  vain.  "  Why  have  you  buttoned  your  coat 
up  tight  to  the  throat  to-day  ?  "  she  would  demand 
sternly. 

"  It  is  such  a  cold  morning,"  he  said. 

"  That  is  not  the  reason,"  she  replied  at  once 
(she  could  see  through  broadcloth  at  a  glance),  "  I 
believe  you  have  on  the  old  necktie  again,  and 
you  promised  to  buy  a  new  one." 

444 


WHO   TOLD   TOMMY   TO   SPEAK? 

"  I  always  forget  about  it  when  I'm  out,"  he 
said  humbly,  and  next  evening  he  found  on  his 
table  a  new  tie,  made  by  Grizel  herself  out  of  her 
mamma's  rokelay. 

It  was  related  by  one  who  had  dropped  in  at 
the  doctor's  house  unexpectedly,  that  he  found 
Grizel  making  a  new  shirt,  and  forcing  the  doctor 
to  try  on  the  sleeves  while  they  were  still  in  the 
pin  stage. 

She  soon  knew  his  every  want,  and  just  as  he 
was  beginning  to  want  it,  there  it  was  at  his  elbow. 
He  realised  what  a  study  she  had  made  of  him 
when  he  heard  her  talking  of  his  favourite  dishes 
and  his  favourite  seat,  and  his  way  of  biting  his 
underlip  when  in  thought,  and  how  hard  he  was 
on  his  left  cuff.  It  had  been  one  of  his  boasts 
that  he  had  no  favourite  dishes,  etc ,  but  he  saw 
now  that  he  had  been  a  slave  to  them  for  years 
without  knowing  it. 

She  discussed  him  with  other  mothers  as  if  he 
were  her  little  boy,  and  he  denounced  her  for  it. 
But  all  the  time  she  was  spoiling  him.  Formerly 
he  had  got  on  very  well  when  nothing  was  in  its 
place.  Now  he  roared  helplessly  if  he  mislaid  his 
razor. 

He  was  determined  to  make  a  lady  of  her, 
which  necessitated  her  being  sent  to  school ;  she 
preferred  hemming,  baking,  and  rubbing  things 
till  they  shone,  and  not  both  could  have  had  their 

445 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

way  (which  sounds  fatal  for  the  man),  had  they 
not  arranged  a  compromise,  Grizel,  for  instance, 
to  study  geography  for  an  hour  in  the  evening 
with  Miss  Langlands  (go  to  school  in  the  daytime 
she  would  not)  so  long  as  the  doctor  shaved  every 
morning,  but  if  no  shave  no  geography ;  the  doc- 
tor to  wipe  his  pen  on  the  blot-sheet  instead  of  on 
the  lining  of  his  coat  if  she  took  three  lessons  a 
week  from  Miss  Oram  on  the  spinet.  How  happy 
and  proud  she  was!  Her  glee  was  a  constant 
source  of  wonder  to  McQueen.  Perhaps  she  put 
on  airs  a  little,  her  walk,  said  the  critical,  had  be- 
come a  strut ;  but  how  could  she  help  that  when 
the  new  joyousness  of  living  was  dancing  and 
singing  within  her^ 

Had  all  her  fears  for  the  future  rolled  away  like 
clouds  that  leave  no  mark  behind  ?  The  doctor 
thought  so  at  times,  she  so  seldom  spoke  of  them 
to  him ;  he  did  not  see  that  when  they  came  she 
hid  them  from  him  because  she  had  discovered 
that  they  saddened  him.  And  she  had  so  little 
time  to  brood,  being  convinced  of  the  sinfulness 
of  sitting  still,  that  if  the  clouds  came  suddenly, 
they  never  stayed  long  save  once,  and  then  it  was, 
mayhap,  as  well.  The  thunderclap  was  caused 
by  Tommy,  who  brought  it  on  unintentionally  and 
was  almost  as  much  scared  by  his  handiwork  as 
Grizel  herself.  She  and  he  had  been  very  friendly 
of  late,  partly  because  they  shared  with  McQueen 

446 


WHO   TOLD   TOMMY   TO   SPEAK  V 

the  secret  of  the  frustrated  elopement,  partly  be- 
cause they  both  thought  that  in  that  curious  inci- 
dent Tommy  had  behaved  in  a  most  disinterested 
and  splendid  way.  Grizel  had  not  been  sure  of 
it  at  first,  but  it  had  grown  on  Tommy,  he  had  so 
thoroughly  convinced  himself  of  his  intention  to 
get  into  the  train  with  her  at  Tilliedrum  that  her 
doubts  were  dispelled  —  easily  dispelled,  you  say, 
but  the  truth  must  be  told,  Grizel  was  very  anx- 
ious to  be  rid  of  them.  And  Tommy's  were  hon- 
est convictions,  born  full  grown  of  a  desire  for 
happiness  to  all.  Had  Elspeth  discovered  how 
nearly  he  had  deserted  her,  the  same  sentiment 
would  have  made  him  swear  to  her  with  tears 
that  never  should  he  have  gone  farther  than  Tillie- 
drum, and  while  he  was  persuading  her  he  would 
have  persuaded  himself.  Then  again,  when  he 
met  Grizel  —  well,  to  get  him  in  doubt  it  would 
have  been  necessary  to  catch  him  on  the  way  be- 
tween these  two  girls. 

So  Tommy  and  Grizel  were  friends,  and  find- 
ing that  it  hurt  the  doctor  to  speak  on  a  certain 
subject  to  him,  Grizel  gave  her  confidences  to 
Tommy.  She  had  a  fear,  which  he  shared  on  its 
being  explained  to  him,  that  she  might  meet  a 
man  of  the  stamp  of  her  father,  and  grow  fond  of 
him  before  she  knew  the  kind  he  was,  and  as  even 
Tommy  could  not  suggest  an  infallible  test  which 
would  lay  them  bare  at  the  first  glance,  he  con- 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

sented  to  consult  Blinder  once  more.  He  found 
the  blind  man  by  his  fireside,  very  difficult  to  coax 
into  words  on  the  important  topic,  but  Tommy's 
"  You've  said  ower  much  no  to  tell  a  bit  more," 
seemed  to  impress  him,  and  he  answered  the 
question, — 

"  You  said  a  woman  should  fly  frae  the  like  o' 
Grizel's  father  though  it  should  be  to  the  other 
end  of  the  world,  but  how  is  she  to  ken  that  he's 
that  kind?" 

"  She'll  ken,"  Blinder  answered  after  thinking  it 
over,  "  if  she  likes  him  and  fears  him  at  one  breath, 
and  has  a  sort  of  secret  dread  that  he's  getting  a 
power  ower  her  that  she  canna  resist." 

These  words  were  a  flash  of  light  on  a  neglected 
corner  to  Tommy.  "  Now  I  see,  now  I  ken,"  he 
exclaimed,  amazed ;  "  now  I  ken  what  my  mother 
meant !  Blinder,  is  that  no  the  kind  of  man  that's 
called  masterful  *?  " 

"  It's  what  poor  women  find  them  and  call  them 
to  their  cost,"  said  Blinder. 

Tommy's  excitement  was  prodigious.  "Now 
I  ken,  now  I  see ! "  he  cried,  slapping  his  leg  and 
stamping  up  and  down  the  room. 

"  Sit  down ! "  roared  his  host. 

"I  canna,"  retorted  the  boy.  "Oh,  to  think 
o't,  to  think  I  came  to  speir  that  question  at  you, 
to  think  her  and  me  has  wondered  what  kind  he 
was,  and  I  kent  a*  the  time ! "  Without  staying 

44.8 


WHO   TOLD   TOMMY   TO   SPEAK? 

to  tell  Blinder  what  he  was  blethering  about.  In- 
humed off  to  Grizel,  who  was  waiting  for  him  in 
the  Den,  and  to  her  he  poured  out  his  astonishing 
news. 

"  I  ken  all  about  them,  I've  kent  since  afore  I 
came  to  Thrums,  but  though  I  generally  say  the 
prayer,  I've  forgot  to  think  o'  what  it  means."  In 
a  stampede  of  words  he  told  her  all  he  could  re- 
member of  his  mother's  story  as  related  to  him  on 
a  grim  night  in  London  so  long  ago,  and  she  lis- 
tened eagerly.  And  when  that  was  over,  he  re- 
peated first  his  prayer  and  then  Elspeth's,  "  O  God, 
whatever  is  to  be  my  fate,  may  I  never  be  one  of 
them  that  bow  the  knee  to  masterful  man,  and  if  I 
was  born  like  that  and  canna  help  it,  O  take  me 
up  to  heaven  afore  I'm  fil't."  Grizel  repeated  it 
after  him  until  she  had  it  by  heart,  and  even  as  she 
said  it  a  strange  thing  happened,  for  she  began  to 
draw  back  from  Tommy,  with  a  look  of  terror  on 
her  face. 

"  What  makes  you  look  at  me  like  that  ?  "  he 
cried. 

"  I  believe  —  I  think  —  you  are  masterful,"  she 
gasped. 

"  Me  !  "  he  retorted  indignantly. 

"Now,"  she  went  on,  waving  him  back,  "now 
I  know  why  I  would  not  give  in  to  you  when  you 
wanted  me  to  be  Stroke's  wife.  I  was  afraid  you 
were  masterful ! " 

449 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

"  Was  that  it  ?  "  cried  Tommy. 

"  Now,"  she  proceeded,  too  excited  to  heed  his 
interruptions,  "  now  I  know  why  I  would  not  kiss 
your  hand,  now  I  know  why  I  would  not  say  1 
liked  you.  I  was  afraid  of  you,  I " 

"  Were  you  ?  "  His  eyes  began  to  sparkle,  and 
something  very  like  rapture  was  pushing  the  indig- 
nation from  his  face.  "  Oh,  Grizel,  have  I  a  power 
over  you  ?  " 

"  No,  you  have  not,"  she  cried  passionately.  "  I 
was  just  frightened  that  you  might  have.  Oh,  oh, 
I  know  you  now ! " 

"  To  think  o't,  to  think  o't ! "  he  crowed,  wag- 
ging his  head,  and  then  she  clenched  her  fist, 
crying,  "  Oh,  you  wicked,  you  should  cry  with 
shame ! " 

But  he  had  his  answer  ready, "  It  canna  be  my  wite, 
for  I  never  kent  o't  till  you  telled  me.  Grizel,  it  has 
just  come  about  without  either  of  us  kenning!" 

She  shuddered  at  this,  and  then  seized  him  by 
the  shoulders.  "  It  has  not  come  about  at  all," 
she  said,  "  I  was  only  frightened  that  it  might 
come,  and  now  it  can't  come,  for  I  won't  let  it." 

"  But  can  you  help  yourseP  *?  " 

"  Yes,  I  can.  I  shall  never  be  friends  with  you 
again." 

She  had  such  a  capacity  for  keeping  her  word 
that  this  alarmed  him,  and  he  did  his  best  to  ex- 
tinguish his  lights.  "  I'm  no  masterful,  Grizel," 

45° 


WHO   TOLD   TOMMY   TO   SPEAK? 

he  said,  "and  I  dinna  want  to  be,  it  was  just  1< 
minute  that  I  liked  the  thought."     She  shook  her 
head,  but  his  next  words  had  more  effect.     "  If  I 
had  been  that  kind,  would  I  have  teached  you 
Elspeth's  prayer  ?  " 

"  N-no,  I  don't  think  so,"  she  said  slowly,  and 
perhaps  he  would  have  succeeded  in  soothing  her, 
had  not  a  sudden  thought  brought  back  the  terror 
to  her  face. 

"  What  is't  now  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Oh,  oh,  oh!"  she  cried,  "and  I  nearly  went 
away  with  you ! "  and  without  another  word  she 
fled  from  the  Den.  She  never  told  the  doctor  of 
this  incident,  and  in  time  it  became  a  mere  shadow 
in  the  background,  so  that  she  was  again  his  happy 
housekeeper,  but  that  was  because  she  had  found 
strength  to  break  with  Tommy.  She  was  only  an 
eager  little  girl,  pathetically  ignorant  about  what 
she  wanted  most  to  understand,  but  she  saw  how 
an  instinct  had  been  fighting  for  her,  and  now  it 
should  not  have  to  fight  alone.  How  careful  she 
became !  All  Tommy's  wiles  were  vain,  she  would 
scarcely  answer  if  he  spoke  to  her;  if  he  had  ever 
possessed  a  power  over  her  it  was  gone,  Elspeth's 
prayer  had  saved  her. 

Jean  Myles  had  told  Tommy  to  teach  that  prayer 
to  Elspeth;  but  who  had  told  him  to  repeat  it  to 
GrizeH 


A  CI 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

THE  BRANDING  OF  TOMMY 

GRIZEL'S  secession  had  at  least  one  good  effect: 
it  gave  Tommy  more  time  in  which  to  make  a 
scholar  of  himself.  Would  you  like  a  picture  of 
Tommy  trying  to  make  a  scholar  of  himself? 

They  all  helped  him  in  their  different  ways: 
Grizel,  by  declining  his  company;  Corp, by  being 
far  away  at  Lookaboutyou,  adding  to  the  inches  of 
a  farm-house ;  Aaron  Latta,  by  saying  nothing,  but 
looking  "  college  or  the  herding ;  "  Mr.  McLean, 
who  had  settled  down  with  Ailie  at  the  Dovecot, 
by  inquiries  about  his  progress;  Elspeth  by  —  but 
did  Elspeth's  talks  with  him  about  how  they  should 
live  in  Aberdeen  and  afterward  (when  they  were 
in  the  big  house)  do  more  than  send  his  mind 
a-galloping  (she  holding  on  behind)  along  roads 
that  lead  not  to  Aberdeen  ?  What  drove  Tommy 
oftenest  to  the  weary  drudgery  was,  perhaps,  the 
alarm  that  came  over  him  when  he  seemed  of  a 
sudden  to  hear  the  names  of  the  bursars  proclaimed 
and  no  Thomas  Sandys  among  them.  Then  did 
he  shudder,  for  well  he  knew  that  Aaron  would 


THE  BRANDING  OF  TOMMY 

keep  his  threat,  and  he  hastily  covered  the  round 
table  with  books  and  sat  for  hours  sorrowfully 
pecking  at  them,  every  little  while  to  discover  that 
his  mind  had  soared  to  other  things,  when  he  hauled 
it  back,  as  one  draws  in  a  reluctant  kite.  On  these 
occasions  Aaron  seldom  troubled  him,  except  by 
glances  that,  nevertheless,  brought  the  kite  back 
more  quickly  than  if  they  had  been  words  of  warn- 
ing. If  Elspeth  was  present  the  warper  might  sit 
moodily  by  the  fire,  but  when  the  man  and  the  boy 
were  left  together  one  or  other  of  them  soon  retired, 
as  if  this  was  the  only  way  of  preserving  the  peace. 
Though  determined  to  keep  his  word  to  Jean 
Myles  liberally,  Aaron  had  never  liked  Tommy, 
and  Tommy's  avoidance  of  him  is  easily  accounted 
for ;  he  knew  that  Aaron  did  not  admire  him,  and 
unless  you  admired  Tommy  he  was  always  a  boor 
in  your  presence,  shy  and  self-distrustful.  Espe- 
cially was  this  so  if  you  were  a  lady  (how  amazingly 
he  got  on  in  after  years  with  some  of  you,  what 
agony  others  endured  till  he  went  away !),  and  it  is 
the  chief  reason  why  there  are  such  contradictory 
accounts  of  him  to-day. 

Sometimes  Mr.  Cathro  had  hopes  of  him  other 
than  those  that  could  only  be  revealed  in  a  shame- 
ful whisper  with  the  door  shut.  "  Not  so  bad,"  he 
might  say  to  McLean;  "  if  he  keeps  it  up  we  may 
squeeze  him  through  yet,  without  trusting  to  —  to 
what  I  was  fool  enough  to  mention  to  you.  The 

4.C1 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

mathematics  are  his  weak  point,  there's  nothing 
practical  about  him  (except  when  it's  needed  to 
carry  out  his  devil's  designs)  and  he  cares  not  a 
doit  about  the  line  A  B,  nor  what  it's  doing  in  the 
circle  K,  but  there's  whiles  he  surprises  me  when 
we're  at  Homer.  He  has  the  spirit  o't,  man,  even 
when  he  bogles  at  the  sense." 

But  the  next  time  Ivie  called  for  a  report  — ! 

In  his  great  days,  so  glittering,  so  brief  (the 
days  of  the  Penny  Life)  Tommy,  looking  back  to 
this  year  was  sure  that  he  had  never  really  tried  to 
work.  But  he  had.  He  did  his  very  best,  dog- 
gedly, wearily  sitting  at  the  round  table  till  El- 
speth  feared  that  he  was  killing  himself  and  gave 
him  a  melancholy  comfort  by  saying  so.  An  hour 
afterward  he  might  discover  that  he  had  been  far 
away  from  his  books,  looking  on  at  his  affecting 
death  and  counting  the  mourners  at  the  funeral. 

Had  he  thought  that  Grizel's  discovery  was 
making  her  unhappy  he  would  have  melted  at 
once,  but  never  did  she  look  so  proud  as  when  she 
scornfully  passed  him  by,  and  he  wagged  his  head 
complacently  over  her  coming  chagrin  when  she 
heard  that  he  had  carried  the  highest  bursary. 
Then  she  would  know  what  she  had  flung  away. 
This  should  have  helped  him  to  another  struggle 
with  his  lexicon,  but  it  only  provided  a  breeze  for 
the  kite,  which  flew  so  strong  that  he  had  to  let  go 
the  string. 

45* 


THE  BRANDING   OF  TOMMY 

Aaron  and  the  Dominie  met  one  day  in  the 
square,  and  to  Aaron's  surprise  Mr.  Cathro's  de- 
spondency about  Tommy  was  more  pronounced 
than  before.  "  I  wonder  at  that,"  the  warper  said, 
"for  I  assure  you  he  has  been  harder  at  it  than 
ever  thae  last  nights.  What's  more,  he  used  to 
look  doleful  as  he  sat  at  his  table,  but  I  notice  now 
that  he's  as  sweer  to  leave  off  as  he's  keen  to  begin, 
and  the  face  of  him  is  a*  eagerness  too,  and  he 
reads  ower  to  himself  what  he  has  wrote  and  wags 
his  head  at  it  as  if  he  thought  it  grand." 

"  Say  you  so  *? "  asked  Cathro,  suspiciously ; 
"  does  he  leave  what  he  writes  lying  about,  Aaron?" 

"  No,  but  he  takes  it  to  you,  does  he  no'  ?  " 

"Not  him,"  said  the  Dominie,  emphatically. 
"  I  may  be  mistaken,  Aaron,  but  I'm  doubting  the 
young  whelp  is  at  his  tricks  again." 

The  Dominie  was  right,  and  before  many  days 
passed  he  discovered  what  was  Tommy's  new  and 
delicious  occupation. 

For  years  Mr.  Cathro  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
writing  letters  for  such  of  the  populace  as  could 
not  guide  a  pen,  and  though  he  often  told  them 
not  to  come  deaving  him  he  liked  the  job,  unex- 
pected presents  of  a  hen  or  a  ham  occasionally  ar- 
riving as  his  reward,  while  the  personal  matters 
thus  confided  to  him,  as  if  he  were  a  safe  for  the 
banking  of  private  histories,  gave  him  and  his  wife 
gossip  for  winter  nights.  Of  late  the  number  of 

455 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

his  clients  had  decreased  without  his  noticing  it, 
so  confident  was  he  that  they  could  not  get  on 
without  him,  but  he  received  a  shock  at  last  from 
Andrew  Dickie,  who  came  one  Saturday  night 
with  paper,  envelope,  a  Queen's  head,  and  a  re- 
quest for  a  letter  for  Bell  Birse,  now  of  Tilliedrum 

"  You  want  me  to  speir  in  your  name  whethei 
she'll  have  you,  do  you  ?  "  asked  Cathro,  with  a 
flourish  of  his  pen. 

"  It's  no  just  so  simple  as  that,"  said  Andrew, 
and  then  he  seemed  to  be  rather  at  a  loss  to  say 
what  it  was.  "  I  dinna  ken,"  he  continued  pres- 
ently with  a  grave  face,  "  whether  you've  noticed 
that  I'm  a  gey  queer  deevil  *?  Losh,  I  think  I'm 
the  queerest  deevil  I  ken." 

"  We  are  all  that,"  the  Dominie  assured  him. 
"  But  what  do  you  want  me  to  write  ?  " 

"  Well,  it's  like  this,"  said  Andrew ;  "  I'm  will- 
ing to  marry  her  if  she's  agreeable,  but  I  want  to 
make  sure  that  she'll  take  me  afore  I  speir  her. 
I'm  a  proud  man,  Dominie." 

44  You're  a  sly  one  !  " 

44  Am  I  no ! "  said  Andrew,  well  pleased.  "Well, 
could  you  put  the  letter  in  tha-t  wy?" 

44 1  wouldna,"  replied  Mr.  Cathro,  "  though  I 
could,  and  I  couldna  though  I  would.  It  would 
defy  the  face  of  clay  to  do  it,  you  canny  lover." 

Now,  the  Dominie  had  frequently  declined  to 
write  as  he  was  bidden,  and  had  suggested  altera* 

456 


THE   BRANDING   OF   TOMMY 

tions  which  were  invariably  accepted,  but  to  his  as- 
tonishment Andrew  would  not  give  in.  "  I'll  be 
stepping  then,"  he  said  coolly,  "  for  if  you  hinna 
the  knack  o't  I  ken  somebody  that  has." 

"  Who  ?  "  demanded  the  irate  Dominie. 

"  I  promised  no  to  tell  you,"  replied  Andrew, 
and  away  he  went.  Mr.  Cathro  expected  him  to 
return  presently  in  humbler  mood,  but  was  disap- 
pointed, and  a  week  or  two  afterwards  he  heard 
Andrew  and  Mary  Jane  Proctor  cried  in  the  parish 
church.  "Did  Bell  Birse  refuse  him?"  he  asked 
the  kirk  officer,  and  was  informed  that  Bell  had 
never  got  a  chance.  "  His  letter  was  so  cunning," 
said  John,  "  that  without  speiring  her,  it  drew  ane 
frae  her  in  which  she  let  out  that  she  was  centered 
on  Davit  Allardyce." 

"But  who  wrote  Andrew's  letter?"  asked  Mr. 
Cathro,  sharply. 

"  I  thought  it  had  been  yoursel',"  said  John, 
and  the  Dominie  chafed,  and  lost  much  of  the 
afternoon  service  by  going  over  in  his  mind  the 
names  of  possible  rivals.  He  never  thought  of 
Tommy. 

Then  a  week  or  two  later  fell  a  heavier  blow. 
At  least  twice  a  year  the  Dominie  had  written  for 
Meggy  Duff  to  her  daughter  in  Ireland  a  long  let- 
ter founded  on  this  suggestion,  "  Dear  Kaytherine, 
if  you  dinna  send  ten  shillings  immediately,  your 
puir  auld  mother  will  have  neither  house  nor 

457 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

hame.  I'm  crying  to  you  for't,  Kaytherine; 
hearken  and  you'll  hear  my  cry  across  the  cauldriff 
sea."  He  met  Meggy  in  the  Banker's  close  one 
day,  and  asked  her  pleasantly  if  the  time  was  not 
drawing  nigh  for  another  appeal. 

"  I  have  wrote,"  replied  the  old  woman,  giving 
her  pocket  a  boastful  smack  which  she  thus  ex- 
plained, "and  it  was  the  whole  ten  shillings  this 
time,  and  you  never  got  more  for  me  than  five." 

"Who  wrote  the  letter  for  you?"  he  asked, 
lowering. 

She,  too,  it  seemed,  had  promised  not  to  tell. 

"Did  you  promise  to  tell  nobody,  Meggy,  or 
just  no  to  tell  me,"  he  pressed  her,  of  a  sudden 
suspecting  Tommy. 

"  Just  no  to  tell  you,"  she  answered,  and  at  that, 

"  Da-a-a,"  began  the  Dominie,  and  then  saved 
his  reputation  by  adding  "  gont."  The  derivation 
of  the  word  dagont  has  puzzled  many,  but  here 
we  seem  to  have  it. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  what  Tommy  wrote. 
The  general  opinion  was  that  his  letter  must  have 
been  a  triumph  of  eloquent  appeal,  and  indeed  he 
had  first  sketched  out  several  masterpieces,  all  of 
some  length  and  in  different  styles,  but  on  the 
whole  not  unlike  the  concoctions  of  Meggy's  for- 
mer secretary ;  that  is,  he  had  dwelt  on  the  duties 
of  daughters,  on  the  hardness  of  the  times,  on  the 
certainty  that  if  Katherine  helped  this  time  assis- 

458 


THE  BRANDING   OF  TOMMY 

tance  would  never  be  needed  again.  This  sort 
of  thing  had  always  satisfied  the  Dominie,  but 
Tommy,  despite  his  several  attempts,  had  a  vague 
consciousness  that  there  was  something  second-rate 
about  them,  and  he  tapped  on  his  brain  till  it  re- 
sponded. The  letter  he  despatched  to  Ireland,  but 
had  the  wisdom  not  to  read  aloud  even  to  Meggy, 
contained  nothing  save  her  own  words,  "Dear 
Kaytherine,  if  you  dinna  send  ten  shillings  im- 
mediately your  puir  auld  mother  will  have  neither 
house  nor  hame.  I'm  crying  to  you  for't,  Kaythe- 
rine ;  hearken  and  you'll  hear  my  cry  across  the 
cauldriff  sea."  It  was  a  call  from  the  heart  which 
transported  Katherine  to  Thrums  in  a  second  of 
time,  she  seemed  to  see  her  mother  again,  grown 
frail  since  last  they  met  —  and  so  all  was  well  for 
Meggy.  Tommy  did  not  put  all  this  to  himself 
but  he  felt  it,  and  after  that  he  could  not  have  written 
the  letter  differently.  Happy  Tommy!  To  be 
an  artist  is  a  great  thing,  but  to  be  an  artist  and 
not  know  it  is  the  most  glorious  plight  in  the 
world. 

Other  fickle  clients  put  their  correspondence 
into  the  boy's  hands,  and  Cathro  found  it  out  but 
said  nothing.  Dignity  kept  him  in  check ;  he  did 
not  even  let  the  tawse  speak  for  him.  So  well  did 
he  dissemble  that  Tommy  could  not  decide  how 
much  he  knew,  and  dreaded  his  getting  hold  of 
some  of  the  letters,  yet  pined  to  watch  his  face 

459 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

while  lie  read  them.  This  could  not  last  forever 
Mr.  Cathro  was  like  a  haughty  kettle  which  has 
choked  its  spout  that  none  may  know  it  has  come 
a-boil,  and  we  all  know  what  in  that  event  must 
happen  sooner  or  later  to  the  lid. 

The  three  boys  who  had  college  in  the  tail  of 
their  eye  had  certain  privileges  not  for  the  herd. 
It  was  taken  for  granted  that  when  knowledge 
came  their  way  they  needed  no  overseer  to  make 
them  stand  their  ground,  and  accordingly  for  great 
part  of  the  day  they  had  a  back  bench  to  them- 
selves, with  half-a-dozen  hedges  of  boys  and  girls 
between  them  and  the  Dominie.  From  his  chair 
Mr.  Cathro  could  not  see  them,  but  a  footboard 
was  nailed  to  it,  and  when  he  stood  on  this,  as  he 
had  an  aggravating  trick  of  doing,  softly  and  swiftly, 
they  were  suddenly  in  view.  A  large  fire  had  been 
burning  all  day,  and  the  atmosphere  was  soporific. 
Mr.  Cathro  was  so  sleepy  himself  that  the  sight  of 
a  nodding  head  enraged  him  like  a  caricature,  and  he 
was  on  the  footboard  frequently  for  the  reason  that 
makes  bearded  men  suck  peppermints  in  church. 
Against  his  better  judgment  he  took  several  peeps 
at  Tommy,  whom  he  had  lately  suspected  of  writ- 
ing his  letters  in  school,  or  at  least  of  gloating  over 
them  on  that  back  bench.  To-day  he  was  sure  of 
it.  However  absorbing  Euclid  may  be,  even  the 
forty-seventh  of  the  first  book  does  not  make  you 
chuckle  and  wag  your  head ;  you  can  bring  a  sub- 

460 


THE   BRANDING   OF   TOMMY 

stantive  in  Virgil  back  to  the  verb  that  has  lost  it 
without  looking  as  if  you  would  like  to  exhibit 
them  together  in  the  square.  But  Tommy  was 
thus  elated  until  he  gave  way  to  grief  of  the  most 
affecting  kind.  Now  he  looked  gloomily  before 
him  as  if  all  was  over,  now  he  buried  his  face  in 
his  hands,  next  his  eyes  were  closed  as  if  in  prayer. 
All  this  the  Dominie  stood  from  him,  but  when  at 
last  he  began  to  blubber  — 

At  the  blackboard  was  an  arithmetic  class,  slates 
in  hand,  each  member  adding  up  aloud  in  turn  a 
row  of  figures.  By  and  by  it  was  known  that  Ca- 
thro  had  ceased  to  listen.  "  Go  on."  his  voice  rather 
than  himself  said,  and  he  accepted  Mary  Dundas's 
trembling  assertion  that  four  and  seven  make  ten. 
Such  was  the  faith  in  Cathro  that  even  boys  who 
could  add  promptly  turned  their  eleven  into  ten, 
and  he  did  not  catch  them  at  it.  So  obviously 
was  his  mind  as  well  as  his  gaze  on  something 
beyond,  that  Sandy  Riach,  a  wit  who  had  been 
waiting  his  chance  for  years,  snapped  at  it  now, 
and  roared  "  Ten  and  eleven,  nineteen  "  ("  Go  on," 
said  Cathro),  "  and  four,  twenty,"  gasped  Sandy, 
"  and  eight,  sixteen,"  he  added,  gaining  courage. 
"  Very  good,"  murmured  the  Dominie,  whereupon 
Sandy  clenched  his  reputation  forever  by  saying, 
in  one  glorious  mouthful,  "and  six,  eleven,  and 
two,  five,  and  one,  nocht." 

There  was  no  laughing  at  it  then  (though  Sandy 
461 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

held  a  levee  in  the  evening),  they  were  all  so 
stricken  with  amazement.  By  one  movement  they 
swung  round  to  see  what  had  fascinated  Cathro, 
and  the  other  classes  doing  likewise,  Tommy  be- 
came suddenly  the  centre  of  observation.  Big  tears 
were  slinking  down  his  face,  and  falling  on  some 
sheets  of  paper,  which  emotion  prevented  his  con- 
cealing. Anon  the  unusual  stillness  in  the  school 
made  him  look  up,  but  he  was  dazed,  like  one 
uncertain  of  his  whereabouts,  and  he  blinked  rap- 
idly to  clear  his  eyes,  as  a  bird  shakes  water  from 
its  wings. 

Mr.  Cathro  first  uttered  what  was  afterward  de- 
scribed as  a  kind  of  throttled  skirl,  and  then  he 
roared  "Come  here!"  whereupon  Tommy  stepped 
forward  heavily,  and  tried,  as  commanded,  to  come 
to  his  senses,  but  it  was  not  easy  to  make  so  long 
a  journey  in  a  moment  and  several  times,  as  he 
seemed  about  to  conquer  his  tears,  a  wave  of  feel- 
ing set  them  flowing  again. 

"  Take  your  time,"  said  Mr.  Cathro,  grimly,  "  I 
can  wait,"  and  this  had  such  a  helpful  effect  that 
Tommy  was  able  presently  to  speak  up  for  his 
misdeeds.  They  consisted  of  some  letters  written 
at  home,  but  brought  to  the  school  for  private 
reading,  and  the  Dominie  got  a  nasty  jar  when  he 
law  that  they  were  all  signed  "Betsy  Grieve." 
Miss  Betsy  Grieve,  servant  to  Mr.  Duthie,  was 
about  to  marry,  and  these  letters  were  acknow- 

462 


THE   BRANDING   OF   TOMMY 

ledgments  of  wedding  presents.  Now,  Mr.  Cathro 
had  written  similar  letters  for  Betsy  only  a  few 
days  before. 

"  Did  she  ask  you  to  write  these  for  her ! "  he 
demanded,  fuming,  and  Tommy  replied  demurely 
that  she  had.  He  could  not  help  adding,  though 
he  felt  the  unwisdom  of  it,  "  She  got  some  other 
body  to  do  them  first,  but  his  letters  didna  satisfy 
her." 

"  Oh ! "  said  Mr.  Cathro,  and  it  was  such  a  vi- 
cious "oh"  that  Tommy  squeaked  tremblingly, 
"  I  dinna  know  who  he  was." 

Keeping  his  mouth  shut  by  gripping  his  under- 
lip  with  his  teeth,  the  Dominie  read  the  letters, 
and  Tommy  gazed  eagerly  at  him,  all  fear  for- 
gotten, soul  conquering  body.  The  others  stood 
or  sat  waiting,  perplexed  as  to  the  cause,  confi- 
dent of  the  issue.  The  letters  were  much  finer 
productions  than  Cathro's,  he  had  to  admit  it  to 
himself  as  he  read.  Yet  the  rivals  had  started  fair, 
for  Betsy  was  a  recent  immigrant  from  Dunkeld 
way,  and  the  letters  were  to  people  known  neither 
to  Tommy  nor  to  the  Dominie.  Also,  she  had 
given  the  same  details  for  the  guidance  of  each. 
A  lady  had  sent  a  teapot,  which  affected  to  be 
new,  but  was  not;  Betsy  recognised  it  by  a  scratch 
on  the  lid,  and  wanted  to  scratch  back,  but  po- 
litely So  Tommy  wrote,  "  When  you  come  to  see 
me  we  shall  have  a  cup  of  tea  out  of  your  beauti- 

463 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

ful  present,  and  it  will  be  like  a  meeting  of  three 
old  friends."  That  was  perhaps  too  polite,  Betsy 
feared,  but  Tommy  said  authoritatively, "  No,  the 
politer  the  nippier." 

There  was  a  set  of  six  cups  and  saucers  from 
Peter  something,  who  had  loved  Betsy  in  vain. 
She  had  shown  the  Dominie  and  Tommy  the  ear- 
rings given  her  long  ago  by  Peter  (they  were 
bought  with  Sosh  checks)  and  the  poem  he  had 
written  about  them,  and  she  was  most  anxious  to 
gratify  him  in  her  reply.  All  Cathro  could  do, 
however,  was  to  wish  Peter  well  in  some  ornate 
sentences,  while  Tommy's  was  a  letter  that  only  a 
tender  woman's  heart  could  have  indited,  with  such 
beautiful  touches  about  the  days  which  are  no 
more,  alas !  forever,  that  Betsey  listened  to  it  with 
heaving  breast  and  felt  so  sorry  for  her  old  swain 
that,  forgetting  she  had  never  loved  him,  she  all 
but  gave  Andrew  the  go-by  and  returned  to  Peter. 
As  for  Peter,  who  had  been  getting  over  his  trou- 
ble, he  saw  now  for  the  first  time  what  he  had 
lost,  and  he  carried  Betsy's  dear  letter  in  his  oxter 
pocket  and  was  inconsolable. 

But  the  masterpiece  went  to  Mrs.  Dinnie,  baker, 
in  return  for  a  flagon  bun.  Long  ago  her  daugh- 
ter, Janet,  and  Betsy  had  agreed  to  marry  on  the 
same  day,  and  many  a  quip  had  Mrs.  Dinnie  cast 
at  their  romantic  compact.  But  Janet  died,  and 
so  it  was  a  sad  letter  that  Tommy  had  to  write  to 

464 


THE  BRANDING   OF  TOMMY 

her  mother.  •'  I'm  doubting  you're  no  auld  enough 
for  this  ane,"  soft-hearted  Betsy  said,  but  she  did 
not  know  her  man.  "  Tell  me  some  one  thing 
the  mother  used  often  to  say  when  she  was  taking 
her  fun  off  the  pair  of  you,"  he  said,  and  "  Where 
is  she  buried  *?  "  was  a  suggestive  question,  with 
the  happy  tag,  "  Is  there  a  tree  hanging  over  the 
grave*?"  Thus  assisted,  he  composed  a  letter 
that  had  a  tear  in  every  sentence.  Betsy  rubbed 
her  eyes  red  over  it,  and  not  all  its  sentiments 
were  allowed  to  die,  for  Mrs.  Dinnie,  touched  to 
to  the  heart,  printed  the  best  of  them  in  black 
licorice  on  short  bread  for  funeral  feasts,  at  which 
they  gave  rise  to  solemn  reflections  as  they  went 
down. 

Nevertheless,  this  letter  affected  none  so  much 
as  the  writer  of  it.  His  first  rough  sketch  became 
so  damp  as  he  wrote  that  he  had  to  abandon  his 
pen  and  take  to  pencil ;  while  he  was  revising  he 
had  often  to  desist  to  dry  his  eyes  on  the  coverlet 
of  Aaron's  bed,  which  made  Elspeth  weep  also, 
though  she  had  no  notion  what  he  was  at.  But 
when  the  work  was  finished  he  took  her  into  the 
secret  and  read  his  letter  to  her,  and  he  almost 
choked  as  he  did  so.  Yet  he  smiled  rapturously 
through  his  woe,  and  she  knew  no  better  than  to 
be  proud  of  htm,  and  he  awoke  next  morning 
with  a  cold,  brought  on  you  can  see  how,  but  his 
triumph  was  worth  its  price. 

465 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

Having  read  the  letter  in  an  uncanny  silence, 
Mr.  Cathro  unbottled  Tommy  for  the  details,  and 
out  they  came  with  a  rush,  blowing  away  the  cork 
discretion.  Yet  was  the  Dominie  slow  to  strike ; 
he  seemed  to  find  more  satisfaction  in  surveying 
his  young  friend  with  a  wondering  gaze  that  had 
a  dash  of  admiration  in  it,  which  Tommy  was  the 
first  to  note. 

"I  don't  mind  admitting  before  the  whole 
school,"  said  Mr.  Cathro,  slowly,  "  that  if  these 
letters  had  been  addressed  to  me  they  would  have 
taken  me  in." 

Tommy  tried  to  look  modest,  but  his  chest 
would  have  its  way. 

"  You  little  sacket,"  cried  the  Dominie,  "  how 
did  you  manage  it4?" 

"  I  think  I  thought  I  was  Betsy  at  the  time," 
Tommy  answered,  with  proper  awe. 

"  She  told  me  nothing  about  the  weeping-willow 
at  the  grave,"  said  the  Dominie,  perhaps  in  self- 
defence. 

"  You  hadna  speired  if  there  was  one,"  retorted 
Tommy,  jealously. 

"  What  made  you  think  of  it  ?  " 

4- 1  saw  it  might  come  in  neat."  (He  had  said 
in  the  letter  that  the  weeping-willow  reminded 
him  of  the  days  when  Janet's  bonny  hair  hung 
down  kissing  her  waist  'ust  as  the  willow  kissed 
the  grave.) 

466 


THE   BRANDING    OF   TOMMY 

"  Willows  don't  hang  so  low  as  you  seem  to 
think,"  said  the  Dominie. 

"  Yes,  they  do,"  replied  Tommy ;  "  I  walked 
three  miles  to  see  one  to  make  sure.  I  was  near 
putting  in  another  beautiful  bit  about  weeping- 
villows." 

"  Well,  why  didn't  you  <?  " 

Tommy  looked  up  with  an  impudent  snigger. 
"  You  could  never  guess,"  he  said. 

"  Answer  me  at  once,"  thundered  his  preceptor, 
"  Was  it  because " 

"No,"  interrupted  Tommy,  so  conscious  of 
Mr.  Cathro's  inferiority  that  to  let  him  go  on 
seemed  waste  of  time.  "  It  was  because,  though 
it  is  a  beautiful  thing  in  itself,  I  felt  a  servant  las- 
sie wouldna  have  thought  o't.  I  was  sweer,"  he  ad- 
mitted, with  a  sigh ;  then  firmly,  "but  I  cut  it  out." 

Again  Cathro  admired,  reluctantly.  The  hack 
does  feel  the  difference  between  himself  and  the 
artist.  Cathro  might  possibly  have  had  the  idea, 
he  could  not  have  cut  it  out. 

But  the  hack  is  sometimes,  or  usually,  or  nearly 
always  the  artist's  master,  and  can  make  him  suffer 
for  his  dem'd  superiority. 

"  What  made  you  snivel  when  you  read  the 
pathetic  bits  ?  "  asked  Cathro,  with  itching  fingers. 

"I  was  so  sorry  for  Peter  and  Mrs.  Dinnie," 
Tommy  answered,  a  little  puzzled  himself  now, 
"  I  saw  them  so  clear." 

467 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

"And  yet  until  Betsy  came  to  you,  you  had 
never  heard  tell  of  them  ?  " 

"No." 

"  And  on  reflection  you  don't  care  a  doit  about 
them?" 

"N-no." 

"  And  you  care  as  little  for  Betsy  ?  " 

"  No  now,  but  at  the  time  I  a  kind  of  thought 
I  was  to  be  married  to  Andrew." 

"  And  even  while  you  blubbered  you  were  say- 
ing to  yourself,  '  What  a  clever  billie  I  am ! ' " 
-  Mr.  Cathro  had  certainly  intended  to  end  the 
scene  with  the  strap,  but  as  he  stretched  out  his 
hand  for  it  he  had  another  idea.  "  Do  you  know 
why  Nether  Drumgley's  sheep  are  branded  with 
the  letters  N.  D.  *? "  he  asked  his  pupils,  and  a 
dozen  replied,  "  So  as  all  may  ken  wha  they  be- 
long to." 

"Precisely," said  Mr.  Cathro, " and  similarly  they 
used  to  brand  a  letter  on  a  felon,  so  that  all  might 
know  whom  be  belonged  to."  He  crossed  to  the 
fireplace,  and,  picking  up  a  charred  stick,  wrote 
with  it  on  the  forehead  of  startled  Tommy  the 
letters  "  S.  T." 

"  Now,"  said  the  Dominie  complacently,  "  we 
know  to  whom  Tommy  belongs." 

All  were  so  taken  aback  that  for  some  seconds 
nothing  could  be  heard  save  Tommy  indignantly 

468 


THE  BRANDING  OF  TOMMY 

wiping  his  brow ;  then  "  Wha  is  he  ?  "  cried  one, 
the  mouthpiece  of  half  a  hundred. 

"  He  is  one  of  the  two  proprietors  we  have  just 
been  speaking  of,"  replied  Cathro,  dryly,  and  turn- 
ing again  to  Tommy,  he  said,  "  Wipe  away,  Sen- 
timental Tommy,  try  hot  water,  try  cold  water,  try 
a  knife,  but  you  will  never  get  those  letters  oft  you ; 
you  are  branded  for  ever  and  ever." 


469 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

OF  FOUR  MINISTERS  WHO  AFTERWARDS  BOASTED  THAT 
THEY  HAD   KNOWN  TOMMY  SANDYS 

BURSARY  examination  time  had  come,  and  to  the 
siege  of  Aberdeen  marched  a  hungry  half-dozen — 
three  of  them  from  Thrums,  two  from  the  Glen- 
quharity  school.  The  sixth  was  Tod  Lindertis,  a 
ploughman  from  the  Dubb  of  Prosen,  his  place 
of  study  the  bothy  after  lousing  time  (Do  you  hear 
the  klink  of  quoits  ?)  or  a  one-roomed  house  near 
it,  his  tutor  a  dogged  little  woman,  who  knew  not 
the  accusative  from  the  dative,  but  never  tired  of 
holding  the  book  while  Tod  recited.  Him  some- 
one greets  with  the  good-natured  jeer,  "  It's  your 
fourth  try,  is  it  no,  Tod  ?  "  and  he  answers  cheerily, 
44  It  is,  my  lathie,  and  I'll  keep  kick,  kick,  kicking 
away  to  the  nth  time." 

"  Which  means  till  the  door  flies  open,"  says 
the  dogged  little  woman,  who  is  the  gallant  Tod's 
no  less  gallant  wife,  and  already  the  mother  of 
two.  I  hope  Tod  will  succeed  this  time. 

The  competitors,  who  were  to  travel  part  of  the 
way  on  their  shanks,  met  soon  after  daybreak  in 
Cathro's  yard,  where  a  little  crowd  awaited  them, 


FOUR   MINISTERS 

parents  trying  to  look  humble,  Mr.  Duthie  and 
Ramsay  Cameron  thinking  of  the  morning  when 
they  set  off  on  the  same  errand  —  but  the  results 
were  different,  and  Mr.  Duthie  is  now  a  minister, 
and  Ramsay  is  in  the  middle  of  another  wob.  Both 
dominies  were  present,  hating  each  other  for  that 
day  only,  up  to  the  mouth,  where  their  icy  polite- 
ness was  a  thing  to  shudder  at,  and  each  was 
drilling  his  detachment  to  the  last  moment,  but 
by  different  methods;  for  while  Mr.  Cathro  en- 
treated Joe  Meldrum  for  God's  sake  to  mind  that 
about  the  genitive,  and  Willie  Simpson  to  keep 
his  mouth  shut  and  drink  even  water  sparingly, 
Mr.  Ogilvy  cracked  jokes  with  Gav  Dishart  and 
explained  them  to  Lauchlan  McLauchlan.  "  Think 
of  anything  now  but  what  is  before  you,"  was  Mr. 
Ogilvy's  advice.  "  Think  of  nothing  else,"  roared 
Mr.  Cathro.  But  though  Mr.  Ogilvy  seemed 
outwardly  calm  it  was  base  pretence;  his  dickie 
gradually  wriggled  through  the  opening  of  his 
waistcoat,  as  if  bearing  a  protest  from  his  inward 
parts,  and  he  let  it  hang  crumpled  and  conspicu- 
ous, while  Grizel,  on  the  outskirts  of  the  crowd, 
yearned  to  put  it  right. 

Grizel  was  not  there;  she  told  several  people, 
including  herself,  to  say  good-by  to  Tommy,  and 
oh,  how  she  scorned  Elspeth  for  looking  as  if  life 
would  not  be  endurable  without  him.  Knowing 
what  Elspeth  was,  Tommy  had  decided  that  she 

471 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

should  not  accompany  him  to  the  yard  (of  course 
she  was  to  follow  him  to  Aberdeen  if  he  distin- 
guished himself — Mr.  McLean  had  promised  to 
bring  her),  but  she  told  him  of  her  dream  that  he 
headed  the  bursary  list,  and  as  this  dream  coincided 
with  some  dreams  of  his  own,  though  not  with  all, 
it  seemed  to  give  her  such  fortitude  that  he  let 
her  come.-  An  expressionless  face  was  Tommy's, 
so  that  not  even  the  experienced  dominie  of  Glen- 
quharity,  covertly  scanning  his  rival's  lot,  could 
tell  whether  he  was  gloomy  or  uplifted ;  he  did 
not  seem  to  be  in  need  of  a  long  sleep  like  Willie 
Simpson,  nor  were  his  eyes  glazed  like  Gav  Dish- 
art's,  who  carried  all  the  problems  of  Euclid  be- 
fore him  on  an  invisible  blackboard  and  dared  not 
even  wink  lest  he  displaced  them,  nor  did  he,  like 
Tod  Lindertis,  answer  questions  about  his  money 
pocket  or  where  he  had  stowed  his  bread  and 
cheese  with 

"  After  envy,  spare,  obey, 
The  dative  put,  remember,  pray." 

Mr.  Ogilvy  noticed  that  Cathro  tapped  his  fore- 
head, doubtfully,  every  time  his  eyes  fell  on  Tommy, 
but  otherwise  shunned  him,  and  he  asked,  "What 
are  his  chances  *?  " 

"  That's  the  laddie,"  replied  Mr.  Cathro,  "  who, 
when  you  took  her  ladyship  to  see  Corp  Shiach 

years  ago  impersona " 

472 


FOUR   MINISTERS 

4  I  know,"  Mr.  Ogilvy  interrupted  him  hastily, 
"  but  how  will  he  stand,  think  you  ?  " 

Mr.  Cathro  coughed.  "  We'll  see,"  he  said 
guardedly. 

Nevertheless  Tommy  was  not  to  get  round  the 
corner  without  betraying  a  little  of  himself,  for  El- 
speth,  having  borne  up  magnificently  when  he 
shook  hands,  screamed  at  the  tragedy  of  his  back 
and  fell  into  the  arms  of  Tod's  wife,  whereupon 
Tommy  first  tried  to  brazen  it  out  and  then  kissed 
her  in  the  presence  of  a  score  of  witnesses,  includ- 
ing Grizel,  who  stamped  her  foot,  though  what 
right  had  she  to  be  so  angry  ?  "  I'm  sure,"  El- 
speth  sobbed,  "that  the  professor  would  let  me  sit 
beside  you ;  I  would  just  hunker  on  the  floor  and 
hold  your  foot  and  no  say  a  word."  Tommy  gave 
Todd's  wife  an  imploring  look,  and  she  managed 
to  comfort  Elspeth  with  predictions  of  his  coming 
triumph  and  the  reunion  to  follow.  Grateful  El- 
speth in  return  asked  Tommy  to  help  Tod  when 
the  professors  were  not  looking,  and  he  promised, 
after  which  she  had  no  more  fear  for  Tod. 

And  now,  ye  drums  that  we  all  carry  in  our 
breasts,  beat  your  best  over  the  bravest  sight  ever 
seen  in  a  small  Scotch  town  of  an  autumn  morning, 
the  departure  of  its  fighting  lads  for  the  lists  at 
Aberdeen.  Let  the  tune  be  the  sweet  familiar  one 
you  found  somewhere  in  the  Bible  long  ago,  "  The 
mothers  we  leave  behind  us  "  —  leave  behind  us 

473 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

on  their  knees.  May  it  dirl  through  your  bones, 
brave  boys,  to  the  end,  as  you  hope  not  to  be 
damned.  And  now,  quick  march. 

A  week  has  elapsed,  and  now  —  there  is  no  call 
for  music  now,  for  these  are  but  the  vanquished 
crawling  back,  Joe  Meldrum  and  —  and  another. 
No,  it  is  not  Tod,  he  stays  on  in  Aberdeen,  for  he 
is  a  twelve-pound  tenner.  The  two  were  within  a 
mile  of  Thrums  at  three  o'clock,  but  after  that 
they  lagged,  waiting  for  the  gloaming,  when  they 
stole  to  their  homes,  ducking  as  they  passed  win- 
dows without  the  blinds  down.  Elspeth  ran  to 
Tommy  when  he  appeared  in  the  doorway,  and 
then  she  got  quickly  between  him  and  Aaron, 
The  warper  was  sitting  by  the  fire  at  his  evening 
meal,  and  he  gave  the  wanderer  a  long  steady  look, 
then  without  a  word  returned  to  his  porridge  and 
porter.  It  was  a  less  hearty  welcome  home  even 
than  Joe's ;  his  mother  was  among  those  who  had 
wept  to  lose  her  son,  but  when  he  came  back  to 
her  she  gave  him  a  whack  on  the  head  with  the 
thieval. 

Aaron  asked  not  a  question  about  those  days 
in  Aberdeen,  but  he  heard  a  little  about  them 
from  Elspeth.  Tommy  had  not  excused  himself 
to  Elspeth,  he  had  let  her  do  as  she  liked  with  his 
head  (this  was  a  great  treat  to  her),  and  while  it 
lay  pressed  against  hers,  she  made  remarks  about 
Aberdeen  professors  which  it  would  have  done 

474 


FOUR   MINISTERS 

them  good  to  hear.  These  she  repeated  to  Aaron, 
who  was  about  to  answer  roughly,  and  then  sud- 
denly put  her  on  his  knee  instead. 

"  They  didna  ask  the  right  questions,"  she  told 
him,  and  when  the  warper  asked  if  Tommy  had 
said  so,  she  declared  that  he  had  refused  to  say  a 
word  against  them,  which  seemed  to  her  to  cover 
him  with  glory.  "But  he  doubted  they  would 
make  that  mistake  afore  he  started,"  she  said 
brightly,  "  so  you  see  he  saw  through  them  afore 
he  ever  set  eyes  on  them." 

Corp  would  have  replied  admiringly  to  this 
"Oh,  the  little  deevil!"  When  he  heard  of 
Tommy's  failure  he  wanted  to  fight  Gav  Dishart 
and  Willie  Simpson,  but  Aaron  was  another  kind 
of  confidant,  and  even  when  she  explained  on 
Tommy's  authority  that  there  are  two  kinds  of 
cleverness,  the  kind  you  learn  from  books  and  a 
kind  that  is  inside  yourself,  which  latter  was 
Tommy's  kind,  he  only  replied : 

"  He  can  take  it  wi'  him  to  the  herding,  then, 
and  see  if  it'll  keep  the  cattle  frae  stravaiging." 

"  It's  no  that  kind  of  cleverness  either,"  said 
Elspeth,  quaking,  and  quaked  also  Tommy,  who 
had  gone  to  the  garret,  to  listen  through  the  floor. 

"  No  ?  I  would  like  to  ken  what  use  his  clever- 
ness can  be  put  to,  then,"  said  Aaron,  and  Elspeth 
answered  nothing,  and  Tommy  only  sighed,  for 
that  indeed  was  the  problem.  But  though  to  these 

475 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

three  and  to  Cathro,  and  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McLean 
and  to  others  more  mildly  interested,  it  seemed  a 
problem  beyond  solution,  there  was  one  in  Thrums 
who  rocked  her  arms  at  their  denseness,  a  girl 
growing  so  long  in  the  legs  that  twice  within  the 
last  year  she  had  found  it  necessary  to  let  down 
her  parramatty  frock.  As  soon  as  she  heard  that 
Tommy  had  come  home  vanquished,  she  put  on 
the  quaint  blue  bonnet  with  the  white  strings,  in 
which  she  fondly  believed  she  looked  ever  so  old 
(her  period  of  mourning  was  at  an  end,  but  she 
still  wore  her  black  dress),  and  forgetting  all  ex- 
cept that  he  was  unhappy,  she  ran  to  a  certain 
little  house  to  comfort  him.  But  she  did  not  go 
in,  for  through  the  window  she  saw  Elspeth  pet- 
ting him,  and  that  somehow  annoyed  her.  In  the 
evening,  however,  she  called  on  Mr.  Cathro. 

Perhaps  you  want  to  know  why  she,  who  at 
last  saw  Sentimental  Tommy  in  his  true  light  and 
spurned  him  accordingly,  now  exerted  herself  in 
his  behalf  instead  of  going  on  with  the  papering 
of  the  surgery.  Well,  that  was  the  reason.  She 
had  put  the  question  to  herself  before  —  not,  in- 
deed, before  going  to  Monypenny,  but  before  call- 
ing on  the  Dominie  —  and  decided  that  she  wanted 
to  send  Tommy  to  college,  because  she  disliked 
him  so  much  that  she  could  not  endure  the  pros- 
pect of  his  remaining  in  Thrums.  Now,  are  you 
satisfied  ? 

476 


FOUR  MINISTERS 

She  could  scarcely  take  time  to  say  good-evert 
ing  to  Mr.  Cathro  before  telling  him  the  object 
of  her  visit  "  The  letters  Tommy  has  been  writ- 
ing for  people  are  very  clever,  are  they  not  ?  "  she 
began. 

"  You've  heard  of  them,  have  you  *?  " 

"  Everybody  has  heard  of  them,"  she  said  in* 
judiciously,  and  he  groaned  and  asked  if  she  had 
come  to  tell  him  this.  But  he  admitted  their 
cleverness,  whereupon  she  asked,  "  Well,  if  he  is 
clever  at  writing  letters,  would  he  not  be  clever  at 
writing  an  essay  ?  " 

"  I  wager  my  head  against  a  snuff  mull  that  he 
would  be,  but  what  are  you  driving  at  *? " 

"  I  was  wondering  whether  he  could  not  win 
the  prize  I  heard  Dr.  McQueen  speaking  about* 
the  —  is  it  not  called  the  Hugh  Blackadder  ?  " 

"  My  head  against  a  buckie  that  he  could !  Sit 
down,  Grizel,  I  see  what  you  mean  now.  Ay, 
but  the  pity  is  he's  not  eligible  for  the  Hugh 
Blackadder.  Oh,  that  he  was,  oh,  that  he  was! 
I  would  make  Ogilvy  of  Glenquharity  sing  small 
at  last!  His  loons  have  carried  the  Blackadder 
for  the  last  seven  years  without  a  break.  The 
Hugh  Blackadder  Mortification,  the  bequest  is 
called,  and,  'deed,  it  has  been  a  sore  mortification 
to  me ! " 

Calming  down,  he  told  her  the  story  of  the 
bequest.  Hugh  Blackadder  was  a  Thrums  man 

477 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

who  made  a  fortune  in  America,  and  bequeathed 
the  interest  of  three  hundred  pounds  of  it  to  be 
competed  for  yearly  by  the  youth  of  his  native 
place.  He  had  grown  fond  of  Thrums  and  all 
its  ways  over  there,  and  left  directions  that  the 
prize  should  be  given  for  the  best  essay  in  the 
Scots  tongue,  the  ministers  of  the  town  and  glens 
to  be  the  judges,  the  competitors  to  be  boys  who 
were  going  to  college  but  had  not  without  it  the 
wherewithal  to  support  themselves.  The  minis- 
ters took  this  to  mean  that  those  who  carried 
small  bursaries  were  eligible,  and  indeed  it  had 
usually  gone  to  a  bursar. 

"Sentimental  Tommy  would  not  have  been 
able  to  compete  if  he  had  got  a  bursary,"  Mr. 
Cathro  explained,  "  because  however  small  it  was 
Mr.  McLean  meant  to  double  it;  and  he  can't 
compete  without  it,  for  McLean  refuses  to  help 
him  now  (he  was  here  an  hour  since,  saying 
the  laddie  was  obviously  hopeless),  so  I  never 
thought  of  entering  Tommy  for  the  Blackadder. 
No,  it  will  go  to  Ogilvy's  Lauchlan  McLauchlan, 
who  is  a  twelve-pounder,  and,  as  there  can  be  no 
competitors  he'll  get  it  without  the  trouble  of 
coming  back  to  write  the  essay." 

"  But  suppose  Mr.  McLean  were  willing  to  do 
what  he  promised  if  Tommy  won  the  Black- 
adder?" 

"  It's  useless  to  appeal  to  McLean.  He's  hard 
4.78 


FOUR   MINISTERS 

set  against  the  laddie  now  and  washes  his  hands 
of  him,  saying  that  Aaron  Latta  is  right  after  all. 
He  may  soften,  and  get  Tommy  into  a  trade  to 
save  him  from  the  herding,  but  send  him  to  col- 
lege he  won't,  and  indeed  he's  right,  the  laddie's 
a  fool." 

"Not  at  writing  let " 

"And  what  is  the  effect  of  his  letter-writing, 
but  to  make  me  ridiculous*?  Me !  I  wonder  you 
can  expect  me  to  move  a  finger  for  him ;  he  has 
been  my  torment  ever  since  his  inscrutable  face 
appeared  at  my  door." 

"Never  mind  him,"  said  Grizel,  cunningly. 
"  But  think  what  a  triumph  it  would  be  to  you 
if  your  boy  beat  Mr.  Ogilvy's." 

The  dominie  rose  in  his  excitement  and 
slammed  the  table.  "  My  certie,  lassie,  but  it 
would!"  he  cried.  "  Ogilvy  looks  on  the  Black- 
adder  as  his  perquisite,  and  he's  surer  of  it  than 
ever  this  year.  And  there's  no  doubt  but  Tommy 
would  carry  it.  My  head  to  a  buckie  preen  he 
would  carry  it,  and  then,  oh,  for  a  sight  of  Ogil- 
vy's face,  oh,  for "  He  broke  off  abruptly. 

"But  what's  the  good  of  thinking  of  it  ?"  he  said, 
dolefully.  "  Mr.  McLean's  a  firm  man  when  he 
makes  up  his  mind." 

Nevertheless,  though  McLean,  who  had  a  Scotch- 
man's faith  in  the  verdict  of  professors,  and  had 
been  bitterly  disappointed  by  Tommy's  failure,  re- 

47Q 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

fused  to  be  converted  by  the  Dominie's  entreaties, 
he  yielded  to  them  when  they  were  voiced  by 
Ailie  (brought  into  the  plot  vice  Grizel  retired), 
and  Elspeth  got  round  Aaron,  and  so  it  came 
about  that  with  his  usual  luck,  Tommy  was  given 
another  chance,  present  at  the  competition,  which 
took  place  in  the  Thrums  school,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Duthie,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dishart,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gloag 
of  Noran  Side,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lorrimer  of  Glen- 
quharity  (these  on  hair-bottomed  chairs),  and  Mr. 
Cathro  and  Mr.  Ogilvy  (cane) ;  present  also  to  a 
less  extent  (that  is  to  say,  their  faces  at  the  win- 
dows), Corp  and  others  who  applauded  the  local 
champion  when  he  entered  and  derided  McLauch- 
lan.  The  subject  of  the  essay  was  changed  yearly, 
this  time  "  A  Day  in  Church  "  was  announced,  and 
immediately  Lauchlan  McLauchlan,  who  had  not 
missed  a  service  since  his  scarlet  fever  year  (and 
too  few  then),  smote  his  red  head  in  agony,  while 
Tommy,  who  had  missed  as  many  as  possible,  looked 
calmly  confident.  For  two  hours  the  competitors 
were  put  into  a  small  room  communicating  with  the 
larger  one,  and  Tommy  began  at  once  with  a  con- 
fident smirk  that  presently  gave  way  to  a  most 
holy  expression;  while  Lauchlan  gaped  at  him 
and  at  last  got  started  also,  but  had  to  pause  oc« 
casionally  to  rub  his  face  on  his  sleeve,  for,  like 
Corp,  he  was  one  of  the  kind  who  cannot  think 
without  perspiring.  In  the  large  room  the  minis- 

d.8o 


FOUR   MINISTERS 

fers  gossiped  about  eternal  punishment,  and  of  the 
two  dominies  one  sat  at  his  ease,  like  a  passenger 
who  knows  that  the  coach  will  reach  the  goal 
without  any  exertion  on  his  part,  while  the  other 
paced  the  floor,  with  many  a  despondent  glance 
through  the  open  door  whence  the  scraping  pro- 
ceeded ;  and  the  one  was  pleasantly  cool ;  and  the 
other  in  a  plot  of  heat ;  and  the  one  made  genial 
remarks  about  everyday  matters,  and  the  answers 
of  the  other  stood  on  their  heads.  It  was  a  famil- 
iar comedy  to  Mr.  Ogilvy,  hardly  a  variation  on 
what  had  happened  five  times  in  six  for  many 
years:  the  same  scene,  the  same  scraping  in  the 
little  room,  the  same  background  of  ministers 
(blackaviced  Mr.  Lorrimer  had  begun  to  bark 
again),  the  same  dominies ;  everything  was  as  it 
had  so  often  been,  except  that  he  and  Cathro  had 
changed  places;  it  was  Cathro  who  sat  smiling 
now  and  Mr.  Ogilvy  who  dolefully  paced  the  floor. 
To  be  able  to  write !  Throughout  Mr.  Ogilvy's 
life,  save  when  he  was  about  one  and  twenty,  this 
had  seemed  the  great  thing,  and  he  ever  approached 
the  thought  reverently,  as  if  it  were  a  maid  of 
more  than  mortal  purity.  And  it  is,  and  because 
he  knew  this  she  let  him  see  her  face,  which  shall 
ever  be  hidden  from  those  who  look  not  for  the 
soul,  and  to  help  him  nearer  to  her  came  assistance 
in  strange  guise,  the  loss  of  loved  ones,  dolour  un- 
utterable; but  still  she  was  beyond  his  reach. 

481 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Night  by  night,  when  the  only  light  in  the  glen 
was  the  schoolhouse  lamp,  of  use  at  least  as  a  land- 
mark to  solitary  travellers — who  miss  it  nowadays, 
for  it  burns  no  more  —  she  hovered  over  him,  nor 
did  she  deride  his  hopeless  efforts,  but  rather  as  she 
saw  him  go  from  black  to  gray  and  from  gray  to 
white  in  her  service,  were  her  luminous  eyes  sor- 
rowful because  she  was  not  for  him,  and  she  bent 
impulsively  toward  him,  so  that  once  or  twice  in  a 
long  life  he  touched  her  fingers,  and  a  heavenly 
spark  was  lit,  for  he  had  risen  higher  than  himself, 
and  that  is  literature. 

He  knew  that  oblivion  was  at  hand,  ready  to 
sweep  away  his  pages'  almost  as  soon  as  they  were 
filled  (Do  we  not  all  hear  her  besom  when  we 
pause  to  dip  *?),  but  he  had  done  his  best  and  he 
had  a  sense  of  humour,  and  perhaps  some  day  would 
come  a  pupil  of  whom  he  could  make  what  he  had 
failed  to  make  of  himself.  That  prodigy  never  did 
come,  though  it  was  not  for  want  of  nursing,  and 
there  came  at  last,  in  succession  most  madden- 
ing to  Mr.  Cathro,  a  row  of  youths  who  could 
be  trained  to  carry  the  Hugh  Blackadder.  Mr. 
Ogilvy's  many  triumphs  in  this  competition  had 
not  dulled  his  appetite  for  more,  and  depressed 
he  was  at  the  prospect  of  a  reverse.  That  it  was 
coming  now  he  could  not  doubt.  McLauchlan, 
who  was  to  be  Rev.,  had  a  flow  of  words  (which 
would  prevent  his  perspiring  much  in  the  pulpit), 

4.82 


FOUR  MINISTERS 

but  he  could  no  more  describe  a  familiar  scene 
with  the  pen  than  a  milkmaid  can  draw  a  cow. 
The  Thrums  representatives  were  sometimes  as 
little  gifted,  it  is  true,  and  never  were  they  so  well 
exercised,  but  this  Tommy  had  the  knack  of  it, 
as  Mr.  Ogilvy  could  not  doubt,  for  the  story  of  his 
letter-writing  had  been  through  the  glens. 

"  Keep  up  your  spirits,"  Mr.  Lorrimer  had 
said  to  him  as  they  walked  together  to  the  fray, 
"  Cathro's  loon  may  compose  the  better  of  the 
two,  but,  as  I  understand,  the  first  years  of  his  life 
were  spent  in  London,  and  so  he  may  bogle  at  the 
Scotch." 

But  the  Dominie  replied,  "  Don't  buoy  me  up 
on  a  soap  bubble.  If  there's  as  much  in  him  as  I 
fear,  that  should  be  a  help  to  him  instead  of  a 
hindrance,  for  it  will  have  set  him  a-thinking  about 
the  words  he  uses." 

And  the  satisfaction  on  Tommy's  face  when  the 
subject  of  the  essay  was  given  out,  with  the  busi- 
ness-like way  in  which  he  set  to  work,  had  added 
to  the  Dominie's  misgivings;  if  anything  was  re- 
quired to  dishearten  him  utterly  it  was  provided 
by  Cathro's  confident  smile.  The  two  Thrums 
ministers  were  naturally  desirous  that  Tommy 
should  win,  but  the  younger  of  them  was  very 
fond  of  Mr.  Ogilvy,  and  noticing  his  unhappy 
peeps  through  the  door  dividing  the  rooms,  pro- 
posed that  it  should  be  closed.  He  shut  it  him- 

483 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

self,  and  as  he  did  so  he  observed  that  Tommy  was 
biting  his  pen  and  frowning,  while  McLauchlan, 
having  ceased  to  think,  was  getting  on  nicely.  But 
it  did  not  strike  Mr.  Dishart  that  this  was  worth 
commenting  on. 

"Are  you  not  satisfied  with  the  honours  you 
have  already  got,  you  greedy  man  ?  "  he  said,  lay- 
ing his  hand  affectionately  on  Mr.  Ogilvy,  who 
only  sighed  for  reply. 

"  It  is  well  that  the  prize  should  go  to  different 
localities,  for  in  that  way  its  sphere  of  usefulness 
is  extended,"  remarked  pompous  Mr.  Gloag,  who 
could  be  impartial,  as  there  was  no  candidate 
from  Noran  Side.  He  was  a  minister  much  in 
request  for  church  soirees,  where  he  amused  the 
congregations  so  greatly  with  personal  anecdote 
about  himself  that  they  never  thought  much  of 
him  afterwards.  There  is  one  such  minister  in 
every  presbytery. 

"And  to  have  carried  the  Hugh  Blackadder 
seven  times  running  is  surely  enough  for  any  one 
locality,  even  though  it  be  Glenquharity,"  said 
Mr.  Lorrimer,  preparing  for  defeat. 

"  There's  consolation  for  you,  sir,"  said  Mr. 
Cathro,  sarcastically,  to  his  rival,  who  tried  to 
take  snuff  in  sheer  bravado,  but  let  it  slip  through 
his  fingers,  and  after  that  until  the  two  hours  were 
up,  the  talk  was  chiefly  of  how  Tommy  would 
get  on  at  Aberdeen.  But  it  was  confined  to  the 

484 


FOUR   MINISTERS 

four  ministers  and  one  dominie.  Mr.  Ogilvy  still 
hovered  about  the  door  of  communication,  and 
his  face  fell  more  and  more,  making  Mr.  Dishart 
quite  unhappy. 

"I'm  an  old  fool,"  the  Dominie  admitted,  "but 
I  can't  help  being  cast  down.  The  fact  is  that — 
I  have  only  heard  the  scrape  of  one  pen  for  nearly 
an  hour." 

"  Poor  Lauchlan ! "  exclaimed  Mr.  Cathro, 
rubbing  his  hands  gleefully,  and  indeed  it  was 
such  a  shameless  exhibition  that  the  Auld  Licht 
minister  said  reproachfully,  "  You  forget  yourself, 
Mr.  Cathro,  let  us  not  be  unseemly  exalted  in  the 
hour  of  our  triumph." 

Then  Mr.  Cathro  sat  upon  his  hands  as  the 
best  way  of  keeping  them  apart,  but  the  moment 
Mr.  Dishart's  back  presented  itself,  he  winked  at 
Mr.  Ogilvy. 

He  winked  a  good  deal  more  presently. 

For  after  all — how  to  tell  it!  Tommy  was 
ignominiously  beaten,  making  such  a  beggarly 
show  that  the  judges  thought  it  unnecessary  to 
take  the  essays  home  with  them  for  leisurely  con- 
sideration before  pronouncing  Mr.  Lauchlan  Mc- 
Lauchlan  winner.  There  was  quite  a  commotion 
in  the  school-room.  At  the  end  of  the  allotted 
time  the  two  competitors  had  been  told  to  hand 
in  their  essays,  and  how  Mr.  McLauchlan  was 
sniggering  is  not  worth  recording,  so  dumfounded, 

485 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

confused  and  raging  was  Tommy.  He  clung  to 
his  papers,  crying  fiercely  that  the  two  hours  could 
nuc  be  up  yet,  and  Lauchlan  having  tried  to  keep 
the  laugh  in  too  long  it  exploded  in  his  mouth, 
whereupon,  said  he,  with  a  guffaw,  "He  hasna 
written  a  word  for  near  an  hour ! " 

"  What !  It  was  you  I  heard ! "  cried  Mr. 
Ogilvy,  gleaming,  while  the  unhappy  Cathro  tore 
the  essay  from  Tommy's  hands.  Essay !  It  was 
no  more  an  essay  than  a  twig  is  a  tree,  for  the 
gowk  had  stuck  in  the  middle  of  his  second  page. 
Yes,  stuck  is  the  right  expression,  as  his  chagrined 
teacher  had  to  admit  when  the  boy  was  cross-ex- 
amined. He  had  not  been  "  up  to  some  of  his 
tricks,"  he  had  stuck,  and  his  explanations,  as  you 
will  admit,  merely  emphasized  his  incapacity. 

He  had  brought  himself  to  public  scorn  for  lack 
of  a  word.  What  word  *?  they  asked  testily,  but 
even  now  he  could  not  tell.  He  had  wanted  a 
Scotch  word  that  would  signify  how  many  people 
were  in  church,  and  it  was  on  the  tip  of  his  tongue 
but  would  come  no  farther.  Puckle  was  nearly 
the  word,  but  it  did  not  mean  so  many  people  as 
he  meant.  The  hour  had  gone  by  just  like  wink- 
ing ;  he  had  forgotten  all  about  time  while  search- 
ing his  mind  for  the  word. 

When  Mr.  Ogilvy  heard  this  he  seemed  to  be 
much  impressed,  repeatedly  he  nodded  his  head 
as  some  beat  time  to  music,  and  he  muttered 

486 


FOUR   MINISTERS 

to  himself,  "The  right  word  —  yes,  that's  every- 
thing," and  "'the  time  went  by  like  winking' — • 
exactly,  precisely,"  and  he  would  have  liked  to 
examine  Tommy's  bumps,  but  did  not,  nor  said 
a  word  aloud,  for  was  he  not  there  in  McLauch- 
lan's  interest? 

The  other  five  were  furious ;  even  Mr.  Lorrimer, 
though  his  man  had  won,  could  not  smile  in  face 
of  such  imbecility.  "You  little  tattie-doolie," 
Cathro  roared,  "  were  there  not  a  dozen  words  to 
wile  from  if  you  had  an  ill-will  to  puckle  ?  What 
ailed  you  at  manzy,  or " 

"  I  thought  of  manzy,"  replied  Tommy  woe- 
fully, for  he  was  ashamed  of  himself,  "but  —  but 
a  manzy's  a  swarm.  It  would  mean  that  the  folk 
in  the  kirk  were  buzzing  thegither  like  bees,  in- 
stead of  sitting  still." 

"  Even  if  it  does  mean  that,"  said  Mr.  Duthie, 
with  impatience,  "  what  was  the  need  of  being  so 
particular?  Surely  the  art  of  essay-writing  con- 
sists in  using  the  first  word  that  comes  and  hurry- 
ing on." 

"  That's  how  I  did,"  said  the  proud  McLauch- 
lan,  who  is  now  leader  of  a  party  in  the  church, 
and  a  figure  in  Edinburgh  during  the  month  of 
May. 

"  I  see,"  interposed  Mr.  Gloag,  "  that  McLauch- 
lan  speaks  of  there  being  a  mask  of  people  in  the 
church.  Mask  is  a  fine  Scotch  word." 

487 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

44  Admirable,"  assented  Mr.  Dishart. 

44 1  thought  of  mask,"  whimpered  Tommy, 44  but 
that  would  mean  the  kirk  was  crammed,  and  I 
just  meant  it  to  be  middling  full." 

44  Flow  would  have  done,"  suggested  Mr.  Lor- 
rimer. 

44  Flow's  but  a  handful,"  said  Tommy. 

44  Curran,  then,  you  jackanapes ! " 

44  Curran's  no  enough." 

Mr.  Lorrimer  flung  up  his  hands  in  despair. 

44 1  wanted  something  between  curran  and  mask," 
said  Tommy,  dogged,  yet  almost  at  the  crying. 

Mr.  Ogilvy,  who  had  been  hiding  his  admira- 
tion with  difficulty,  spread  a  net  for  him.  44  You 
said  you  wanted  a  word  that  meant  middling  full. 
Well,  why  did  you  not  say  middling  full  —  or  fell 
mask  <?  " 

44  Yes,  why  not  *?  "  demanded  the  ministers,  un- 
consciously caught  in  the  net. 

44 1  wanted  one  word,"  replied  Tommy,  uncon- 
sciously avoiding  it. 

44  You  jewel ! "  muttered  Mr.  Ogilvy  under  his 
breath,  but  Mr.  Cathro  would  have  banged  the 
boy's  head  had  not  the  ministers  interfered. 

44  It  is  so  easy,  too,  to  find  the  right  word,"  said 
Mr.  Gloag. 

44  It's  no ;  it's  as  difficult  as  to  hit  a  squirrel," 
cried  Tommy,  and  again  Mr.  Ogilvy  nodded  ap- 
proval. 

488 


FOUR   MINISTERS 

But  the  ministers  were  only  pained. 

"  The  lad  is  merely  a  numskull,"  said  Mr.  Dish- 
art,  kindly. 

"And  no  teacher  could  have  turned  him  into 
anything  else,"  said  Mr.  Duthie. 

"  And  so,  Cathro,  you  need  not  feel  sore  over 
your  defeat,"  added  Mr.  Gloag;  but  nevertheless 
Cathro  took  Tommy  by  the  neck  and  ran  him  out 
of  the  parish  school  of  Thrums.  When  he  re- 
turned to  the  others  he  found  the  ministers  con- 
gratulating McLauchlan,  whose  nose  was  in  the 
air,  and  complimenting  Mr.  Ogilvy,  who  listened 
to  their  formal  phrases  solemnly  and  accepted  their 
hand-shakes  with  a  dry  chuckle. 

"  Ay,  grin  away,  sir,"  the  mortified  dominie  of 
Thrums  said  to  him  sourly,  "  the  joke  is  on  your 
side." 

"  You  are  right,  sir,"  replied  Mr.  Ogilvy,  mys- 
teriously, "the  joke  is  on  my  side,  and  the  best  of 
it  is  that  not  one  of  you  knows  what  the  joke  is ! " 

And  then  an  odd  thing  happened.  As  they 
were  preparing  to  leave  the  school,  the  door  opened 
a  little  and  there  appeared  in  the  aperture  the  face 
of  Tommy,  tear-stained  but  excited.  "  I  ken  the 
word  now,"  he  cried,  "  it  came  to  me  a*  at  once ; 
it  is  hantle ! " 

The  door  closed  with  a  victorious  bang,  just  in 
time  to  prevent  Cathro 

"Oh,  the  sumph!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Lauchlan 
489 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

McLauchlan,  "as  if  it  mattered  what  the  word  is 


now ! " 


And  said  Mr.  Dishart,  "  Cathro,  you  had  better 
tell  Aaron  Latta  that  the  sooner  he  sends  this  nin- 
compoop to  the  herding  the  better." 

But  Mr.  Ogtlvy  giving  his  Lauchlan  a  push  that 
nearly  sent  him  sprawling,  said  in  an  ecstasy  to 
himself,  "  He  bad  to  think  of  it  till  he  got  it  — 
and  he  got  it;  The  laddie  is  a  genius ! "  They 
were  about  to  tear  up  Tommy's  essay,  but  he 
snatched  it  from  them  and  put  it  in  his  outer 
pocket.  "  I  am  a  collector  of  curiosities,"  he  ex- 
plained, "and  this  paper  may  be  worth  money 
yet." 

"Well,"  said  Cathro,  savagely,  "I  have  one 
satisfaction,  I  ran  him  out  of  my  school." 

"  Who  knows,"  replied  Mr.  Ogilvy,  "  but  what 
you  may  be  proud  to  dust  a  chair  for  him  when 
he  comes  back  1 " 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

THE  .END   OF  A   BOYHOOD 

CONVINCED  of  his  own  wgrthlessness,  Tommy  was 
sufficiently  humble  now,  but  Aaron  Latta,  never- 
theless, marched  to  the  square  on  the  following 
market  day  and  came  back  with  the  boy's  sen- 
tence, Elspeth  being  happily  absent. 

"  I  say  nothing  about  the  disgrace  you  have 
brought  on  this  house,"  the  warper  began  without 
emotion,  "for  it  has  been  a  shamed  house  since 
afore  you  were  born,  and  it's  a  small  offence  to 
skail  on  a  clarty  floor.  But  now  I've  done  more 
for  you  than  I  promised  Jean  Myles  to  do,  and 
you  had  your  pick  atween  college  and  the  herding, 
and  the  herding  you've  chosen  twice.  I  call  you 
no  names,  you  ken  best  what  you're  fitted  for,  but 
I've  seen  the  farmer  of  the  Dubb  of  Prosen  the 
day,  and  he  was  short-handed  through  the  loss 
of  Tod  Lindertis,  so  you're  fee'd  to  him.  Dinna 
think  you  get  Tod's  place,  it'll  be  years  afore  you 
rise  to  that,  but  it's  right  and  proper  that  as  he 
steps  up,  you  should  step  down." 

491 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

44  The  Dubb  of  Prosen ! "  cried  Tommy  in  dis- 
may. "  It's  fifteen  miles  frae  here." 

"  It's  a'  that." 

"  But — but — but  Elspeth  and  me  never  thought 
of  my  being  so  far  away  that  she  couldna  see  me. 
We  thought  of  a  farmer  near  Thrums." 

"  The  farther  you're  frae  her  the  better,"  said 
Aaron,  uneasily,  yet  honestly  believing  what  he 
said. 

"  It'll  kill  her,"  Tommy  cried  fiercely.  With 
only  his  own  suffering  to  consider  he  would  prob« 
ably  have  nursed  it  into  a  play  through  which  he 
stalked  as  the  noble  child  of  misfortune,  but  in  his 
anxiety  for  Elspeth  he  could  still  forget  himself. 
"Fine  you  ken  she  canna  do  without  me,"  he 
screamed. 

"She  maun  be  weaned,"  replied  the  warper, 
with  a  show  of  temper;  he  was  convinced  that 
the  sooner  Elspeth  learned  to  do  without  Tommy 
the  better  it  would  be  for  herself  in  the  end,  but 
in  his  way  of  regarding  the  boy  there  was  also  a 
touch  of  jealousy,  pathetic  rather  than  forbidding. 
To  him  he  left  the  task  of  breaking  the  news  to 
Elspeth;  and  Tommy,  terrified  lest  she  should 
swoon  under  it,  was  almost  offended  when  she  re- 
mained calm.  But,  alas,  the  reason  was  that  she 
thought  she  was  going  with  him. 

"  Will  we  have  to  walk  all  the  way  to  the  Dubb 
of  Prosen  ? "  she  asked,  quite  brightly,  and  at  that 

492 


THE  END   OF  A   BOYHOOD 

Tommy  twisted  about  in  misery.  "  You  are  no 
—  you  canna  — "  he  began,  and  then  dodged  the 
telling.  '*  We — we  may  get  a  lift  in  a  cart,"  he 
said  weakly. 

"  And  I'll  sit  aside  you  in  the  fields,  and  make 
chains  o'  the  go  wans,  will  I  no  *?  Speak,  Tommy!" 

"Ay — ay,  will  you,"  he  groaned. 

"And  we'll  have  a  wee,  wee  room  to  oursel's, 
and " 

He  broke  down.  "  Oh,  Elspeth,"  he  cried,  "  it 
was  ill-done  of  me  no  to  stick  to  my  books,  and 
get  a  bursary,  and  it  was  waur  o'  me  to  bother 
about  that  word.  I'm  a  scoundrel,  I  am,  I'm  a 
black,  I'm  a-  -" 

But  she  put  her  hand  on  his  mouth,  saying, 
"I'm  fonder  o'  you  than  ever,  Tommy,  and  I'll 
like  the  Dubb  o'  Prosen  fine,  and  what  does  it 
matter  where  we  are  when  we're  thegither  ? " 
which  was  poor  comfort  for  him,  but  still  he  could 
not  tell  her  the  truth,  and  so  in  the  end  Aaron  had 
to  tell  her.  It  struck  her  down,  and  the  doctor 
had  to  be  called  in  during  the  night  to  stop  her 
hysterics.  When  at  last  she  fell  asleep  Tommy's 
arm  was  beneath  her,  and  by  and  by  it  was  in 
agony,  but  he  set  his  teeth  and  kept  it  there  rather 
than  risk  waking  her. 

When  Tommy  was  out  of  the  way,  Aaron  did 
his  clumsy  best  to  soothe  her,  sometimes  half- 
shamefacedly  pressing  her  cheek  to  his,  and  she 

493 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

did  not  repel  him,  but  there  was  no  response. 
"  Dinna  take  on  in  that  way,  dawtie,"  he  would 
say,  "  I'll  be  good  to  you." 

"  But  you're  no  Tommy,"  Elspeth  answered. 

"  I'm  not,  I'm  but  a  stunted  tree,  blasted  in  my 
youth,  but  for  a'  that,  I  would  like  to  have  some- 
body to  care  for  me,  and  there's  none  to  do't,  El- 
speth, if  you  winna.  I'll  gang  walks  wi'  you.  I'll 
take  you  to  the  fishing,  I'll  come  to  the  garret  at 
night  to  hap  you  up,  I'll — I'll  teach  you  the  games  I 
used  to  playmysel'.  I'm  no  sure  but  what  you  might 
make  something  o'  me  yet,  bairn,  if  you  tried  hard." 

"  But  you're  no  Tommy,"  Elspeth  wailed  again, 
and  when  he  advised  her  to  put  Tommy  out  of 
her  mind  for  a  little  and  speak  of  other  things,  she 
only  answered  innocently,  "  What  else  is  there  to 
speak  about  *?  " 

Mr.  McLean  had  sent  Tommy  a  pound,  and  so 
was  done  with  him,  but  Ailie  still  thought  him 
a  dear,  though  no  longer  a  wonder,  and  Elspeth 
took  a  strange  confession  to  her,  how  one  night 
she  was  so  angry  with  God  that  she  had  gone  to 
bed  without  saying  her  prayers.  She  had  just 
meant  to  keep  Him  in  suspense  for  a  little,  and 
then  say  them,  but  she  fell  asleep.  And  that  was 
not  the  worst,  for  when  she  woke  in  the  morning, 
and  saw  that  she  was  still  living,  she  was  glad 
she  had  not  said  them.  But  next  night  she  said 
them  twice. 

494 


THE   END   OF  A   BOYHOOD 

And  this,  too,  is  another  flash  into  her  dark  char- 
acter. Tommy,  who  never  missed  saying  his 
prayers  and  could  say  them  with  surprising  quick- 
ness, told  her,  "  God  is  fonder  of  lonely  lasses  than 
of  any  other  kind,  and  every  time  you  greet  it 
makes  Him  greet,  and  when  you're  cheerful  it 
makes  Him  cheerful  too."  This  was  meant  to 
dry  her  eyes,  but  it  had  not  that  effect,  for,  said 
Elspeth,  vindictively,  "  Well,  then,  I'll  just  make 
Him  as  miserable  as  I  can." 

When  Tommy  was  merely  concerned  with  his 
own  affairs  he  did  not  think  much  about  God,  but 
he  knew  that  no  other  could  console  Elspeth,  and 
his  love  for  her  usually  told  him  the  right  things 
to  say,  and  while  he  said  them  he  was  quite  carried 
away  by  his  sentiments  and  even  wept  over  them, 
but  within  the  hour  he  might  be  leering.  They 
were  beautiful,  and  were  repeated  of  course  to  Mrs. 
McLean,  who  told  her  husband  of  them,  declaring 
that  this  boy's  love  for  his  sister  made  her  a  better 
woman. 

"  But  nevertheless,"  said  Ivie,  "  Mr.  Cathro  as- 
sures me- 

"He  is  prejudiced,"  retorted  Mrs.  McLean 
warmly,  prejudice  being  a  failing  which  all  women 
marvel  at.  "Just  listen  to  what  the  boy  said  to 
Elspeth  to-day.  He  said  to  her,  'When  I  am 
away,  try  for  a  whole  day  to  be  better  than  you 
ever  were  before,  and  think  of  nothing  else,  and 

495 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

then  when  prayer-time  comes  you  will  see  that 
you  have  been  happy  without  knowing  it/  Fancy 
his  finding  that  out" 

"  I  wonder  if  he  ever  tried  it  himself? "  said 
Mr.  McLean. 

"  I  vie,  think  shame  of  yourself! " 

"  Well,  even  Cathro  admits  that  he  has  a  kind 
of  cleverness,  but " 

"  Cleverness  ! "  exclaimed  Ailie,  indignantly, 
"  that  is  not  cleverness,  it  is  holiness ; "  and  leav- 
ing the  cynic  she  sought  Elspeth,  and  did  her 
good  by  pointing  out  that  a  girl  who  had  such  a 
brother  should  try  to  save  him  pain.  "  He  is  very 
miserable,  dear,"  she  said,  "because  you  are  so 
unhappy.  If  you  looked  brighter,  think  how  that 
would  help  him,  and  it  would  show  that  you  are 
worthy  of  him."  So  Elspeth  went  home  trying 
hard  to  look  brighter,  but  made  a  sad  mess  of  it. 

"  Think  of  getting  letters  frae  me  every  time 
the  post  comes  in!"  said  Tommy,  and  then  in- 
deed her  face  shone. 

And  then  Elspeth  could  write  to  him — yes,  as 
often  as  ever  she  liked!  This  pleased  her  even 
more.  It  was  such  an  exquisite  thought  that  she 
could  not  wait,  but  wrote  the  first  one  before  he 
started,  and  he  answered  it  across  the  table.  And 
Mrs.  McLean  made  a  letter-bag,  with  two  strings 
to  it,  and  showed  her  how  to  carry  it  about  with 
her  in  a  safer  place  than  a  pocket. 

496 


THE   END   OF  A   BOYHOOD 

Then  a  cheering  thing  occurred.  Came  Corp, 
with  the  astounding  news  that,  in  the  Glencjii- 
harity  dominie's  opinion,  Tommy  should  have 
got  the  Hugh  Blackadder. 

"  He  says  he  is  glad  he  wasna  judge,  because 
he  would  have  had  to  give  you  the  prize,  and  he 
laughs  like  to  split  at  the  ministers  for  giving  it 
to  Lauchlan  McLauchlan." 

Now,  great  was  the  repute  of  Mr.  Ogilvy,  and 
Tommy  gaped  incredulous.  "  He  had  no  word 
of  that  at  the  time,"  he  said. 

"  No  likely !  He  says  if  the  ministers  was  so 
doited  as  to  think  his  loon  did  best,  it  wasna  for 
him  to  conter  them." 

"  Man,  Corp,  you  ca'  me  aff  my  feet !  How 
do  you  ken  this  ?  " 

Corp  had  promised  not  to  tell,  and  he  thought 
he  did  not  tell,  but  Tommy  was  too  clever  for 
him.  Grizel,  it  appeared,  had  heard  Mr.  Ogilvy 
saying  this  strange  thing  to  the  doctor,  and  she 
burned  to  pass  it  on  to  Tommy,  but  she  could 
not  carry  it  to  him  herself,  because — Why  was 
it?  Oh,  yes,  because  she  hated  him.  So  she 
made  a  messenger  of  Corp,  and  warned  him 
against  telling  who  had  sent  him  with  the  news. 

Half  enlightened,  Tommy  began  to  strut  again. 
"You  see  there's  something  in  me  for  all  they 
say,"  he  told  Elspeth.  "  Listen  to  this.  At  the 
bursary  examinations  there  was  some  English  we 

4Q7 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

had  to  turn  into  Latin,  and  it  said,  '  No  man  ever 
attained  supreme  eminence  who  worked  for  mere 
lucre ;  such  efforts  must  ever  be  bounded  by  base 
mediocrity.  None  shall  climb  high  but  he  who 
climbs  for  love,  for  in  truth  where  the  heart  is, 
there  alone  shall  the  treasure  be  found.'  Elspeth 
it  came  ower  me  in  a  clink  how  true  that  was,  and 
I  sat  saying  it  to  myself,  though  I  saw  Gav  Dish- 
art  and  Willie  Simpson  and  the  rest  beginning 
to  put  it  into  Latin  at  once,  as  little  ta'en  up  wi' 
the  words  as  if  they  had  been  about  auld  Hanni- 
bal. I  aye  kent,  Elspeth,  that  I  could  never  do 
much  at  the  learning,  but  I  didna  see  the  reason 
till  I  read  that.  Syne  I  kent  that  playing  so  real- 
like  in  the  Den,  and  telling  about  my  fits  when  it 
wasna  me  that  had  them  but  Corp,  and  mourn* 
ing  for  Lewis  Doig's  father,  and  writing  letters  for 
folk  so  grandly,  and  a'  my  other  queer  ploys  that 
ended  in  Cathro's  calling  me  Sentimental  Tommy, 
was  what  my  heart  was  in,  and  I  saw  in  a  jiffy  that 
if  thae  things  were  work,  I  should  soon  rise  to 
supreme  eminence." 

"  But  they're  no,"  said  Elspeth,  sadly. 

"  No,"  he  admitted,  his  face  falling,  "  but,  El- 
speth, if  I  was  to  hear  some  day  of  work  I  could 
put  my  heart  into  as  if  it  were  a  game  !  I  wouldna 
be  lang  in  finding  the  treasure  syne.  Oh,  the  blat- 
ter I  would  make !  " 

"  I  doubt  there's  no  sic  work,"  she  answered, 
498 


THE  END   OF   A   BOYHOOD 

but  he  told  her  not  to  be  so  sure.  "  I  thought 
there  wasna  myseP,"  he  said,  "  till  now,  but  sure 
as  death  my  heart  was  as  ta'en  up  wi'  hunting  for 
the  right  word  as  if  it  had  been  a  game,  and  that 
was  how  the  time  slipped  by  so  quick.  Yet  it 
was  paying  work,  for  the  way  I  did  it  made  Mr. 
Ogilvy  see  I  should  have  got  the  prize,  and  a* 
body  kens  there's  more  cleverness  in  him  than  in 
a  cart-load  o'  ministers." 

"  But,  but  there  are  no  more  Hugh  Blackadders 
to  try  for,  Tommy  ?  " 

"  That's  nothing,  there  maun  be  other  work  o' 
the  same  kind.  Elspeth,  cheer  up,  I  tell  you,  I'll 
find  a  wy." 

"  But  you  didna  ken  yoursel'  that  you  should 
have  got  the  Hugh  Blackadder  *?  " 

He  would  not  let  this  depress  him.  "I  ken 
now,"  he  said.  Nevertheless,  why  he  should  have 
got  it  was  a  mystery  which  he  longed  to  fathom. 
Mr.  Ogilvy  had  returned  to  Glenquharity,  so 
that  an  explanation  could  not  be  drawn  from  him 
even  if  he  were  willing  to  supply  it,  which  was 
improbable;  but  Tommy  caught  Grizel  in  the 
Banker's  close  and  compelled  her  to  speak. 

"  I  won't  tell  you  a  word  of  what  Mr.  Ogilvy 
said,"  she  insisted,  in  her  obstinate  way,  and,  oh, 
how  she  despised  Corp  for  breaking  his  promise. 

"  Corp  didna  ken  he  telled  me,"  said  Tommy, 
less  to  clear  Corp  than  to  exalt  himself.  "  I  wrig- 

499 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

gled  it  out  o'  him  ;  "  but  even -this  did  not  bring 
Grizel  to  a  proper  frame  of  mind,  so  he  said,  to 
annoy  her, 

"  At  any  rate  you're  fond  o'  me." 

"I  am  not,"  she  replied,  stamping;  "I  think 
you  are  horrid." 

"  What  else  made  you  send  Corp  to  me  ?  " 

"  I  did  that  because  I  heard  you  were  calling 
yourself  a  blockhead." 

"  Oho,"  said  he,  "  so  you  have  been  speiring 
about  me  though  you  winna  speak  to  me !  " 

Grizel  looked  alarmed,  and  thinking  to  weaken 
his  case,  said,  hastily,  "  I  very  nearly  kept  it  from 
you,  I  said  often  to  myself  '  I  won't  tell  him/  " 

"  So  you  have  been  thinking  a  lot  about  me ! " 
was  his  prompt  comment. 

"  If  I  have,"  she  retorted,  "  I  did  not  think  nice 
things.  And  what  is  more,  I  was  angry  with  my- 
self for  telling  Corp  to  tell  you." 

Surely  this  was  crushing,  but  apparently  Tommy 
did  not  think  so,  for  he  said,  "  You  did  it  against 
your  will !  That  means  I  have  a  power  over  you 
that  you  canna  resist.  Oho,  oho ! " 

Had  she  become  more  friendly  so  should  he, 
had  she  shed  one  tear  he  would  have  melted  im- 
mediately ;  but  she  only  looked  him  up  and  down 
disdainfully,  and  it  hardened  him.  He  said  with 
a  leer,  "  I  ken  what  makes  you  hold  your  hands 
so  tight,  it's  to  keep  your  arms  frae  wagging ; "  and 

500 


THE  END  OF  A   BOYHOOD 

then  her  cry,  "  How  do  you  know  ?  "  convicted 
her.  He  had  not  succeeded  in  his  mission,  but 
on  his  way  home  he  muttered,  triumphantly,  "  I 
did  her,  I  did  her ! "  and  once  he  stopped  to  ask 
himself  the  question,  "Was  it  because  my  heart 
was  in  it  *?  "  It  was  their  last  meeting  till  they 
were  man  and  woman. 

A  blazing  sun  had  come  out  on  top  of  heavy 
showers,  and  the  land  reeked  and  smelled  as  of  the 
wash-tub.  The  smaller  girls  of  Mony penny  were 
sitting  in  passages  playing  at  fivey,justas  Sappho, 
for  instance,  used  to  play  it ;  but  they  heard  the 
Dubb  of  Prosen  cart  draw  up  at  Aaron  Latta's 
door,  and  they  followed  it  to  see  the  last  of  Tommy 
Sandys.  Corp  was  already  there,  calling  in  at  the 
door  every  time  he  heard  a  sob ;  "  Dinna,  Elspeth, 
dinna,  he'll  find  a  wy,"  but  Grizel  had  refused  to 
come,  though  Tommy  knew  that  she  had  been 
asking  when  he  started  and  which  road  the  cart 
would  take.  Well,  he  was  not  giving  her  a  thought 
at  any  rate ;  his  box  was  in  the  cart  now,  and  his 
face  was  streaked  with  tears  that  were  all  for  El- 
speth. She  should  not  have  come  to  the  door, 
but  she  came,  and  —  it  was  such  a  pitiable  sight 
that  Aaron  Latta  could  not  look  on.  He  went 
hurriedly  to  his  workshop,  but  not  to  warp,  and 
even  the  carter  was  touched  and  he  said  to  Tommy, 
"  I  tell  you  what,  man,  I  have  to  go  round  by 

501 


SENTIMENTAL  TOMMY 

Causeway  End  smiddy,  and  you  and  the  crittur 
have  time,  if  you  like,  to  take  the  short  cut  and 
meet  me  at  the  far  corner  o'  Caddam  wood." 

So  Tommy  and  Elspeth,  holding  each  other's 
hands,  took  the  short  cut  and  they  came  to  the 
far  end  of  Caddam,  and  Elspeth  thought  they  had 
better  say  it  here  before  the  cart  came ;  but  Tommy 
said  he  should  walk  back  with  her  through  the 
wood  as  far  as  the  Toom  Well,  and  they  could  say 
it  there.  They  tried  to  say  it  at  the  Well,  but  - 
Elspeth  was  still  with  him  when  he  returned  to  the 
far  corner  of  Caddam,  where  the  cart  was  now 
awaiting  him.  The  carter  was  sitting  on  the  shaft, 
and  he  told  them  he  was  in  no  hurry,  and  what  is 
more,  he  had  the  delicacy  to  turn  his  back  on  them 
and  struck  his  horse  with  the  reins  for  looking 
round  at  the  sorrowful  pair.  They  should  have 
said  it  now,  but  first  Tommy  walked  back  a  little 
bit  of  the  way  with  Elspeth,  and  then  she  came 
back  with  him,  and  that  was  to  be  the  last  time, 
but  he  could  not  leave  her,  and  so,  there  they  were 
looking  woefully  at  each  other,  and  it  was  not 
said  yet. 

They  had  said  it  now,  and  all  was  over;  they 
were  several  paces  apart.  Elspeth  smiled,  she  had 
promised  to  smile  because  Tommy  said  it  would 
kill  him  if  she  was  greeting  at  the  very  end.  But 
what  a  smile  it  was !  Tommy  whistled,  he  had 
promised  to  whistle  to  show  that  he  was  happy  as 

<02 


THE  END   OF  A   BOYHOOD 

long  as  Elspeth  could  smile.  She  stood  still,  but 
he  went  on,  turning  round  every  few  yards  to  — 
to  whistle.  "  Never  forget,  day  nor  night,  what  I 
said  to  you,"  he  called  to  her.  "  You're  the  only 
one  I  love,  and  I  care  not  a  hair  for  Grizel." 

But  when  he  disappeared,  shouting  to  her,  "  I'll 
find  a  wy,  I'll  find  a  wy,"  she  screamed  and  ran 
after  him.  He  was  already  in  the  cart,  and  it  had 
started.  He  stood  up  in  it  and  waved  his  hand 
to  her,  and  she  stood  on  the  dyke  and  waved  to 
him,  and  thus  they  stood  waving  till  a  hollow  in 
the  road  swallowed  cart  and  man  and  boy.  Then 
Elspeth  put  her  hands  to  her  eyes  and  went  sob- 
bing homeward. 

When  she  was  gone,  a  girl  who  had  heard  all 
that  had  passed  between  them  rose  from  among 
the  broom  of  Caddam  and  took  Elspeth's  place  on 
the  dyke,  where  she  stood  motionless  waiting  for 
the  cart  to  reappear  as  it  climbed  the  other  side 
of  the  hollow.  She  wore  a  black  frock  and  a  blue 
bonnet  with  white  strings,  but  the  cart  was  far 
away,  and  Tommy  thought  she  was  Elspeth,  and 
springing  to  his  feet  again  in  the*  cart  he  waved 
and  waved.  At  first  she  did  not  respond,  for  had 
she  not  heard  him  say  "You're  the  only  one  I 
love,  and  I  care  not  a  hair  for  Grizel"?  And 
she  knew  he  was  mistaking  her  for  Elspeth.  But 
by  and  by  it  struck  her  that  he  would  be  more 
unhappy  if  he  thought  Elspeth  was  too  overcome 

503 


SENTIMENTAL   TOMMY 

by  grief  to  wave  to  him.  Her  arms  rocked  pas- 
sionately ;  no,  no,  she  would  not  lift  them  to  wave 
to  him,  he  could  be  as  unhappy  as  he  chose. 
Then  in  a  spirit  of  self-abnegation  that  surely  raised 
her  high  among  the  daughters  of  men,  though  she 
was  but  a  painted  lady's  child,  she  waved  to  him 
to  save  him  pain,  and  he,  still  erect  in  the  cart, 
waved  back  until  nothing  could  be  seen  by  either 
of  them  save  wood  and  fields  and  a  long,  deserted 
road. 


THE    END 


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OCT  6   1943 

SEP  1  0  2006 

NOV  0  '<  2006 

LD  lii    I00m-7,'89(402   ) 

YB  74.1.46 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


